Insane
by tweekers.luvs.u.16
Summary: My name's Tweek Tweak. I've lived in a mental institution since I was five. From the moment I met my doctor's son, Craig Tucker, I knew I liked him. A lot. Creek.
1. Chapter 1 Revised

"So, Tweek, how are you today?" My psychologist, Mr Tucker, sits on a chair in front of me, smiling widely, even though I've known since I was six that he's faking. That's what one of my only friends, Bradley, told me. He said that they fake being nice to gain your trust. I trust Bradley a lot, so I've hated my doctor ever since. I used to be pretty naive with adults, but now it's common sense.

"I-I'm f-f-fine." I struggle a lot to say the words, as always. I've had a stuttering problem ever since my mom died when I was four years old. Well, technically, since I was five. I went_mute_ when I was four. It was probably from the shock of my mom's death. I can say no one was expecting it, but I don't know the details. When I _did_ start speaking again, I couldn't help but stutter.

My dad soon started to worry and took me to the doctor.

The doctor said I have severe anxiety, which was quite worrying then, because of my age. I don't really remember, but my dad told me that the doctor gave me some medication to help with it, but I always somehow refused to take it. I couldn't swallow pills. I hid them under my tongue and spat them out when my dad wasn't looking. With liquid medicine, I would purposely spill or smash the bottle so there was none left, or I would just spit it out. I struggled and shook so much that the doctor couldn't give me shots. One thing I do remember is that once, when I was about five and a half, my dad crushed up some tablets and put it in some cake mix. That was the one time I actually took medicine, though I did notice the cake tasted weird, and so I never fell for that kind of trick again.

These days, I'm mature enough to be given shots, which is the only way I can take the treatment, because I still spit out pills and liquid medicine, because of the taste.

I dread having those needles stuck into my arm, especially when there are other kids waiting for their turn, watching me. There's nothing worse (for me) than having other mentally disturbed kids observe you have something sharp inject stuff into you. Although none of the staff know, having other children in the hospital only makes my anxiety worse.

One thing that screwed up my life _even _more was when about a year ago, I was allowed home for one day by the hospital. They do that to almost every kid. I think it's so we don't forget our parents or something. I think it's ridiculous locking us up. I think being surrounded by glass walls and the looks of disapproving nurses makes us more insane than we were to begin with.

When I came home that one time, my dad seemed happy to see me, though now I'm not so sure if he was faking (like my doctor) or not. I mean, if he was really a loving father like he looked, then why did he allow me to be kept in a mental hospital for so long? I know he sure didn't try to get me out. I just **know**.

While I was gone, he'd turned part of our house into a coffee shop. It was weird seeing my strangers eating stuff and drinking random crapola in my own house. All I really remembered from my house at that time was my room and the kitchen.

Having never been introduced to drinks in the hospital other than water and sometimes milk, and being too young to remember what it was, I foolishly asked my father what coffee was. He immediately smiled and broke out into a range of metaphors, like the wierdo he was. I got the message that he liked coffee a lot. When he was finally done, I asked him again, but to say it in English. He sighed 'cause I didn't understand it the first time and told me it was special brown beans in hot water.

I then asked why anybody would want to drink that, then he handed me a cup of the steaming black stuff and told me to try it. Now _that_, was the worst mistake of my life.

Unfortunately, I liked it a lot. It was much more interesting than bland water and boring milk when it came to taste. I made another mistake, and _told_ him I liked it.

He gave me about eight cups, if I recall, which was quite a lot for an eight year old to consume in one day. When I was returned to the hospital, the first thing I asked my doctor (not Mr Tucker, another one) is for some coffee. He looked quite surprised, and asked how I'd managed to drink some. I told him that my dad had given it to me earlier that day and that I liked it a lot. The nurses and doctors in the room all stared at me when I said that. I still don't know exactly what happened, but I know they definitely had some kind of talk with my father.

He never gave me coffee again, although, to this day, I still crave the stuff. So now, I'm addicted to fucking _coffee _as well as my other problems.

"That's good, Tweek. Have you had today's shot yet?" I shakily nod, cringing as I remember having that… that _thing_ stuck into my arm by a nurse.

"Great. Now Tweek, I know you're frustrated because you've been staying here for so many years… how many was it again?" I couldn't help but roll my eyes at him. He's supposed to be helping me be normal, not _forgetting_ things.

"A-Almost f-f-four y-years." Mr Tucker nods in understanding.

"Ah, that's right, you're almost ten. Almost the same age as my son." I twitch at my own doctor mentioning he has a son. Not to mention my age. I hate to say it, with how much I hate him, but it's hard to imagine Mr Tucker speaking with any child but me, though I know he's the psychologist to about a ¼ of the other kids in this hospital.

"…Y-You h-have a s-son?" I ask quietly, looking at the wall and trying not to sound too interested. Mr Tucker blinks at me.

"Yes. Didn't I tell you before?" I shake my head, even though he probably has. I don't even listen to half the things he says in our sessions. I know I should though, if I want any chance of getting out of this place.

"Well, I do have one. He's ten. His name's Craig. He's a… a lovely boy." I inhale and process the name in my mind. _Craig Tucker_. What a boring name. And yet...

I clutch the front of my shirt with my left hand.

"… Oh…" I watch Mr Tucker rummage around in his bag, which he _always _carries around with him. He smiles as he finds what he's looking for. He hands me a picture.

"That's him in a school photo from this year." I look closely at the picture. Like Mr Tucker said, Craig looks my age. He has a blue hat that I can tell he wears every day, just by guessing. He doesn't look that happy… in fact, he's giving the camera the bird. The way he's looking at the camera... fascinates me. I give the picture a small smile, as if Craig's actually looking back.

"D-Does h-h-he like t-to f-flip p-people o-o-off or s-something?" Mr Tucker blushes.

"Sorry about that. He's not the happiest child in the world."

"Oh … Hey look!" I watch my doctor look at the ceiling in alarm. I can't believe he fell for the oldest, and I mean the _oldest_, trick in the book. I hide the picture behind my back, and then stuff it into my pocket. I don't know why, but my instincts just told me to keep that photo. I'm trusting myself for once. Let's call it a test.

We spend the next hour having a steady conversation with each other, Mr Tucker failing miserably to talk to me about personal matters. Even though he's a doctor, a _psychologist _for that matter, I just don't feel comfortable talking about that kind of stuff to him. It's like an invasion of privacy. He might as well let me go home and break into my room and steal all my stuff a week later. Whenever he starts asking questions that go past my limit, I give him the silent treatment for about two minutes, which is time he can't afford to lose, what with his tight schedule.

I sigh in relief when Mr Tucker says it's finally time for him to leave. He turns to me as he's about to walk out the door.

"Oh, Tweek, I forgot something. Tomorrow's 'Bring Your Kid to Work Day', so Craig's coming. You might be able to meet him." I nod politely; though I'm pretty sure I never want to meet someone like Craig, judging by the photo in my pocket.

"I'll see you tomorrow then." Mr Tucker nods in good bye and walks out of the room. I sit in the chair I've been in for about an hour already, thinking about what it would be like to meet Craig. I think I sit there for a while, daydreaming, because a nurse has to come in and 'escort' (drag) me to my room.

Once she gets me to my room (or in my words, my prison cell), she starts to scold me.

"Tweek, you know when you're done with Mr Tucker you're to come straight back to your room. If this happens again, you'll have to be punished." I nod, tuning her out. I know she wants the best for me, but I also know she still thinks I'm as crazy as a serial killer.

That sometimes pisses me off.

"Look, young man, you're here because your mind isn't fit to handle the outside worl-

"**Why don't you just say it? I'm crazy.**" I say quietly, going into the mode where I'm able to stop stuttering. It's a mode that appears only very occasionally, maybe once a year, at the most. The nurse freezes, staring at me wide eyed. I know why. It's partly because of my 'new' voice, and partly because she can't deny it. She can't say 'No, you're not crazy, you're here because…' then make up some kind of random reason.

I know that better than anyone. Even Bradley.

"Look Tweek, we don't like to describe kids like you as crazy, nuts, or insane. We say you're mentally unstable. You're here because you're mentally unstable. It's not your fault you're like this, okay?" I nod out of duty, glaring at her because I know it's every little bit my fault.

"One day, you'll be able to leave here. But that's not going to happen unless you abide by the rules. I'll see you in an hour for dinner." She walks out and quickly locks the door to my room, thinking I'm gonna attack her and try to escape. The door's glass for visitors. I hate the fact that it's glass because it makes me feel like I'm in a nut house. Well… I basically_am_.

The walls are made from glass too, making privacy here impossible. It feels like there's always someone watching you. There most likely _is_. One good thing about this though, is that Bradley's in the room/cell next to me, so I can see and talk to him whenever I want.

I look into his cell, ready to speak to him, but it's empty. He's probably still with _his_ doctor, or in the bathroom. If you want to go to the bathroom, you have to press a little button on the back wall (which is the only one that isn't glass), and a nurse will come unlock your door, hand cuff you if you're specifically insane, and escort you there.

I sometimes have to be handcuffed when I'm moody or really anxious, but I'm normally not. Bradley is handcuffed everywhere he goes, except for eating because he's suicidal.

Once, about two years ago, Bradley snuck a hair clip into his sleeve that his little sister had given to him as a gift, and tried to slit his wrists with it. Some kid saw and screamed, pointing at him. The other patients saw and screamed as well. I was the **only **one that didn't make any noise. That was one of the few other times where my 'dark mode' appeared. I just stood there and stared at Bradley with narrowed eyes. Maybe I was so distressed from the sight that my mind automatially locked my emotions away for a few minutes. Maybe I secretly wanted Bradley to die. Maybe I simply respected Bradley's decision to take his life, and decided I had no right to stop him. Well, whatever the reason was, it resulted in me standing there watching bloodshed without even blinking, like some heartless demon from hell. The nurses heard the screams and came running. They saw Bradley, opened the door, snatched the clip away, and took him to the hospital. The _physical_ one.

The police had to come and interview Thomas and I, who are Bradley's 'cell neighbors'; me on the left, Thomas on the right. We both said he'd tried to kill himself with a hair clip, but they didn't believe us. The nurses and staff were convinced he had a knife and wanted to press charges for trying to harm other patients, but I was allowed to rummage around in Bradley's cell and finally found the clip, which was in a corner where some nurse threw it. Bradley came back about a week later. He still has scars on his wrists. I feel sorry for him, because it'll always remind him of the incident.

I sigh and turn to my other neighboring cell on my left, where the new kid is. He'd arrived a few days ago, swearing like there was no tomorrow. I actually learned some new curse words that day. I think his name's Eric Cartman or something.

Sure enough, he's there, reading some Terrance and Phillip comic, _still _looking pissed off. I might as well say hi. He could be here a while.

"H-Hey." His head snaps up, turning to stare at me. He grimaces, which sort of offends me. I hunch up, suddenly feeling nervous.

"What d'ya want, nut?" Nut? What the hell's that?

"N-Nut?"

"Yeah you're a nut. You're crazy." I look at the floor, not knowing what to say to that. I've always known that, even before I arrived here, but... well if I'm coming down, he's coming down with me.

"Y-You must b-be a n-n-nut t-too t-then, s-since y-you're here." He laughs, making me feel stupid.

"I've always known that I'm crazy, and I'm proud of it. Someone like you should bow to me." I flinch. This guy... really is crazy. He smirks at me and continues. "You have no idea how many countless times I've abandoned my friends in life-threatening situations just for something as small as a toy. I don't love anyone nor does anyone love me." I gasp. Not because of what he just said, but at the similarity between us. He's known all along too. He's been alone his whole life (I can tell by the emptiness in his eyes). He's even let his friends almost die. Just like me.

I can feel him stare at me for gasping. When I look up and make eye-contact with him again, the strangest thing happens.

We both scream. Short ones, but still, screams. We both clamp our hands over our mouth and watch each other with wide eyes. What the **fuck** just happened? Perhaps... we both realised how screwed up we are. Eric looks traumatised. He flushes, takes his hands from his mouth and resumes speaking, as if nothing happened.

"A-Anyway, I'm not here 'caus I'm crazy. I'm here 'caus I killed my worst enemy's parents, then fed them to him." That sounds pretty crazy to me.

"I-I think t-that m-m-makes y-you a l-little crazy, E-Eric."

"Well, whatever. I'll be out of here soon anyway. I'm only here for two weeks."

Unbelievable. He murdered two people and made someone a cannibal, and he's here for two weeks, while I'm anxious and like coffee a lot, and at this rate, I'm here for life. I can't _help _but envy him.

"T-That's lucky."

"Yeah, I guess. What are you here for?" I wonder, should I tell him? Yeah, what the hell. I can understand this dude.

"S-severe a-a-anxiety and a-addiction to c-coffee. P-Plus a s-stuttering p-problem." Eric stares at me.

"Not what I expected. I thought you were suicidal or an emo or something."

"H-He is." I point to Bradley's cell on my right. Cartman glances at it and nods.

"I thought so, by looking at him." I nod in agreement. We sit in silence for a while, staring at the walls. I can tell this guy wants to speak to me now. I just can.

"You have the time?" He finally says. I shake my head, then look at the dude in the room across the hall from me. I point at my wrist and he nods.

"Quarter to six." He says. After I nod in thanks, he goes back to cutting stars out of paper. I think he's here because of depression or something. I wonder why they allow him to have scissors. It's ridiculous.

"Y-You h-heard h-him." I tell Cartman, lying down and getting a book out, since I'm bored.

"Aw, fuck." I shoot up.

"W-What's w-w-wrong?"

"My friends are coming to visit me any minute. They said they'd come around six, and knowing them, they'll be early."

"O-Oh." I lie back down and open the book. The nurses only allow us to read classics, so now I'm stuck with 'To Kill a Mocking Bird'. I'm not the best reader in the world, so this'll probably take me a month to read, if I try hard. Might as well start and get it over with. I won't be getting any other books until I finish this one.

"Hey Fatass!" God, what _now_? I look up and see three boys walking over to Eric's cell. One has a blue hat; one has a green hat, and the last one… I can't even see his face, 'cause it's covered by an orange hood. This is what our society is becoming...

"Don't call me that, Jew!" Ok, so Green Hat's Jewish. Blue Hat speaks.

"How's it in the nut house?" I twitch at the word. I prefer where I live to be called a 'Mental Institution for Kids' or 'Children's Mental Hospital' as opposed to 'Nut House'.

"Shut up Stan! I'm not crazy; I just lost my temper with Scott, that's all." Blue Hat's name's Stan.

"Right. I thought they had padded cells in nut houses…" Green Hat says, looking around.

"Don't be dumb, Kahl. Not all mental hospitals are like that." So Green Hat's Kyle.

"Yeah, but _most_ of them are." Orange Hood says something I can't understand.

"Up yours Kenny." Kenny huh? What an unusual bunch of friends. Kyle catches me staring. I quickly look away, embarrassed. Kyle leans closer to Eric's cell.

"Is he…?" Kyle does the 'cuckoo' gesture.

"Of course he is! We're in a fucking _nut_ house!" Kyle glares at him, which makes me slightly happy.

"Is he okay to..." Eric nods.

"He's nuts alright, but he's okay to talk to." Kyle nods and immediately smiles at me. I don't think I've ever had someone my age smile at me.

"Hey, what's your name?"

"Kahl, don't ask too many questions, he's got a stuttering problem. His name's Tweek." I stare in surprise. How did he know my name?

"Shut up, fatso! I can talk to him all I want."

"I'm not fat, I'm big bo-

"Oh not this crap again!" Stan face palms. Kyle rolls his eyes at his friends and walks over to the front of my cell.

"You look interesting, Tweek. Why're you here?"

"A-Ask E-E-Eric."

"I will later. I'm sorry if calling this hell hole a nut house is offending you."

"It's f-fine." It actually isn't, but I don't want to argue. Kyle seems like a nice enough guy.

"How long have you been here?"

"A-almost f-four years." Kyle stares.

"You've been in this glass cell for _four years_!?"

"U-Uh huh."

"Wow, that's sucks dude!" A nurse comes running to the boys.

"Sorry boys, but you have to leave. It's almost time for dinner, and the children need to be relaxed before they eat."

"Hey! We're not animals!" The boy next to the guy with the watch yells.

"Be quiet young man! Or no dinner!" He shuts up immediately. I'm not surprised. Though we do get served three meals a day, everyone knows hospital food is crappy. And our servings aren't that big either. You miss one meal; you'll be hungry for a week. Happened to me personally.

"Ok we'll go." Stan says, glaring at her. Kyle urgently gestures for me come forward, which I do.

"Look, Tweek, we're gonna get you out of this hell hole. Gotta go." He whispers and quickly walks away, after receiving a frown from the nurse. I watch them all leave.

"You're lucky… to have them…" I tell Cartman, without stuttering for once, outside my dark mode.

"… I know. And yet I'm still..." Cartman shakes his head and picks up his comic. I take out the picture of Craig from my pocket. Part of me hopes to meet him now, since now I know; maybe people from the outside aren't so bad after all.

* * *

><p><strong>REVIEW!<strong>


	2. Chapter 2 Revised

Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God.

Craig's coming today, Craig's coming today!

I wake up feeling instantly excited, taking out the picture of Craig and studying it for the millionth time. All the boys look at me from their cells, still pretty tired. They're all clearly annoyed that I woke them up … by jumping around my glass room like a little girl.

Bradley looks at me from his cell, confused. He's not a morning person. I instantly calm, no longer excited, more embarrassed.

"Tweek… what are you _doing_?" Bradley asks me, making me feel even more uncomfortable.

"No-Nothing… I-I'm j-just e-e-excited."

"… _Why_? We're in a loony clinic. Last time I checked, that's not exciting." He's looking at me that way again. The mocking way, as if I'm a four year old child. He always does it.

"… N-No r-reason..."

"Fine, don't tell me."He always does this too. When he's mad, he wants to be left alone. Doesn't matter what you say, he'll still be mad.

"D-Don't talk l-like th-that…"

"Piss off, Tweek."

"B-Bradley!"

"WILL YOU TWO JUST SHUT UP? I'M SLEEPING! RESPECT MAH AUTHORITAH!"

"… A-Authoritah?"

"CHILDREN! TIME TO WAKE UP!" A nurse comes in ringing a bell and yelling, making most of us groan and try to go back to sleep.

"Why? It's only seven! We're meant to get up at eight!" The guy across from me (with the watch) yells. I've forgotten his name. The nurse glares at him for back chatting.

"You're to get up earlier today so that everything's more organised for 'Bring Your Kid to Work Day'! And don't talk back to me!" Blah, blah, blah.

We're all one by one let out of our cells, some of us handcuffed. When it's finally my turn to be let out, the nurse handcuffs _me_. I'm beyond shocked. The last time I was handcuffed was about seven months ago, for being too anxious.

"W-Why a-are you h-h-handcuffing me?" I try to break out of them, which is, of course, impossible. For me anyway. The nurse grabs my shoulders to prevent me from causing a scene. Sometimes, when a patient resists having handcuffs, or tries to escape or something, the other patients, including me a few times, start a riot, which isn't that good in a hospital with sharp objects and little kids. The nurse thought I was trying to start something.

"Mr Tucker requested that you were handcuffed all day today, because he wants you to meet his child later."

Oh … my … God. I really _am_ going to meet Craig later! I instantly still, not wanting to ruin my chance to meet someone from the outside, apart from Eric's friends. I start to get the jitters from excitement.

"Tweek, are you feeling okay?" Bradley asks me as we're eating breakfast.

I'm sitting with him today because I'm handcuffed. The separate all of us when we eat. The ones who are handcuffed, like Bradley and I, are pretty much branded as 'the super crazy ones' and have to sit at a special table, where they don't allow us to have knives and stuff like that, so they have to cut up the food for us. We don't even get let _out_ of our handcuffs when we eat, so we can't stretch our arms that wide. Although it's nice to sit next to Bradley, I _hate_ this table. Bradley's not normally cuffed when we eat, but I think the staff wanted to take extra precautions with him today, like with me.

"I-I'm fine." I reply as I try to lift my spoon with freaking handcuffs. The kid across the table from me smiles.

"You'll get used to eating with those, don't worry."

"I-I'm n-not here p-permanently, d-d-dumbass!" I snap at him, probably hurting his feelings. It isn't that loud, but the nurse hears me. She must've been standing near our table.

"Tweek Tweak! Language!" I glare but don't protest. I continue to try and eat with handcuffs with about half the patients staring at me. They heard the nurse yelling at me. Eric broke the ice a few seconds later.

"PAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Eric starts to point and laugh at me, triggering the suppressed laughter in almost every kid in the room, which is a lot. They all start laughing at me, which is a completely humiliating experience. Everyone's doing it now, even Bradley, Thomas, and the Watch Kid. I start to shake in anger. My temper is at its peak.

I look around, trying to spot the nurses … for help I guess. Foolish of me. As soon as I see them, I know they're not going to come to my aid. They're just standing there, witnessing my trauma.

Some of them are smirking.

I know something that'll wipe those smiles right off their … their _mother_ _fucking_ faces. Before I know what I'm doing, I stand up, everyone still watching me, run over, and punch the one that started my misery.

Eric Cartman. Sock him right in the jaw. Part of me feels happy ramming my fist in his laughing face. The other part… realises what I'm doing. Of course, the nurses all come to restrain me, which they can't do. I'm still so pissed that I keep hitting him, which is kinda hard with hand cuffs limiting my hand movement.

One of the nurses must have a walkie-talkie or something, because these huge emergency security guys come and lift me off of Eric. By now, everyone's cheering at me beating up the fat ass. The security pin me down and unlock my hand cuffs, then relock them behind my back. They then pull me up and drag me out of the room. I'm so screwed.

I heard kids that cause riots, fights or any kind of scene are taken to a scary place that causes nightmares. I've seen people come back from it and they all looked pretty shook up. I don't think those kids caused trouble ever again.

Sure enough, they're dragging me to a part of the hospital I've never been allowed to walk in. I get sort of a negative aura in this place. The security don't look too happy to be here either. When we finally reach our destination, they take out a key, unlock the door, and throw me in. Before I have time to recover from the fall, I hear the door closing and locking behind me.

I open my eyes and look around, seeing where I am.

Oh.

My.

Fucking.

God.

I'm in… I'm in a… I'm in a padded cell.

This is crazy. I'm not _that_ insane, am I? I know I'm not normal, but I'm not that nuts, I can't be. I mean, all I do is getting super nervous, stutter, and like coffee a lot. That can't make me _this_ insane. If I'm this crazy, having to be put in a padded cell, then now I finally understand why my father's left me here for so many years. Now I finally understand why it's impossible for anyone to love me.

I'm _this_ insane.

* * *

><p>I think I was in there for about five hours, which is pretty kind of them. I hear that some people in other institutions are locked in these things for weeks. I think the only reason I got released is because Mr Tucker bribed them to get me out to meet his son. He's pretty good at that.<p>

And so that's how I'm now walking, still in handcuffs, down the hall to his office, being escorted by a nurse … that's a little freaked out. She thinks I'm gonna jump her or something, after what I did to Eric. Well, I don't regret it. He deserved every bit of it. Anyone who hurts my feelings, or anyone's for that matter, deserves hell.

After what feels like a lifetime, we finally get to Mr Tucker's office. I've never been inside before, since we have our weekly sessions in a special room with coloured walls and cushions and stuff like that. I think it's meant to make people like me feel safe to talk to doctors. It actually has the opposite effect and just plain scares the crap out of me, along with most of the other kids, including Bradley.

I'm cuffed behind my back, so I can't knock on the door. The nurse rolls her eyes and does it for me. She then walks away swiftly, not wanting to be near me anymore, like all the other nurses. I'm probably considered to be one of the most insane kids in this hospital by the staff, apart from the depressed kids like Bradley. The doctors and security aren't that fond of me either. Even Mr Tucker seems uncomfortable around me. So now I'm in a bad mood and Craig's inside the room waiting to meet me. That's why this is gonna be _fantastic_.

Mr Tucker opens the door and gives me a nervous smile. I respond by twitching. I shake and twitch a lot by the way. There are very rare times when I don't do it.

I can tell Mr Tucker is nervous about his son meeting someone like me, from the look in his eyes. I'm a little disappointed about it, but I'm no longer interested in meeting the Tucker child. All the staff are from the outside. Mr Tucker's staff. Craig's the staff's son. To put it shortly, Craig's practically staff. I've officially decided I don't like staff, so, I don't like Craig. Mr Tucker sees I'm still clearly miserable from the events that went on this morning.

"Tweek, please, not now, when my son's here." He whispers, glancing behind him.

"H-Hey, I c-c-can't just m-magically ch-choose when I'm h-happy and not h-happy." I hiss, trying to look over his shoulder and spot where Craig is. Ok, maybe I _do_ wanna meet him. Just a little bit.

"Please try, Tweek. Craig's not in the best mood either; and I want you to make a good impression."

"Who g-gives a s-s-shit? He c-can c-come meet m-meet me o-on a w-w-weekend." Mr Tucker gives me a look for swearing and then sighs.

"Look Tweek, he can't just come whenever he wants. We live three hundred miles from here, so I can only go home once a week; and he can't just come whenever he wants, because of school. Now, I want you to make a good impression so that he tries to visit more often. I'm not as good as convincing his mother as he is."

"… W-Why me?"

"Because I like you Tweek. I know that you're a good person and I know you're not as crazy as people say you are. I just think you and Craig could be great friends if you tried." I sigh. Might as well.

"O-Okay then…" Mr Tucker sighs in relief and finally lets me in.

That's when I see him.

He's lying on the couch looking bored, almost asleep. As I thought he would, he's wearing that same blue hat as the one in the photo. I can't understand how he's related to Mr Tucker. He looks nothing like him or his mother (I've seen a photo of her). I think he's got black hair. He looks exactly the same as in the photo. Perfect.

As soon as he sees me, he stares. I'm not surprised. The good thing though, is it's not a judging or wierded out stare, like many new staff give me and other patients. It's purely just a normal, curious stare. He must've given a signal to Mr Tucker or something, because Mr Tucker immediately says.

"I'll leave you two to it, then. Be nice Craig, don't cause trouble Tweek." He unlocks my handcuffs and then walks out the room, leaving me alone with a total stranger from the outside; who I'm pretty sure I don't like. Okay, I admit I like the way he looks, but not actually _him_.

He gets up and circles me, studying how I look. I must've been quite a sight. I look crazy to begin with because I shake and my hair's really messy, but I'm wearing white clothes like every other kid here, and I've got some tears stains on my face 'caus I cried a bit earlier in the padded cell. I'm not made of stone.

"White uniform, huh?"

Oh God. His voice. His _voice_. I love it so much. I just do. The dullness of it. I'm still trying to process it, so he thinks I'm ignoring him.

"I see. So you're gonna give me the silent treatment?" He asks in a cold sort of way. I cringe, not wanting to blow my chances of a friendship with this guy.

"N-No! It's not like that!" He seems surprised at how desperate I sounded. Or maybe it was my high voice.

"I…" He quickly composes himself. "I feel sorry for someone like you."

"…W-Why?"

"Being a nut. It must suck being locked in a glass cell and having to wear the same white clothes every day." I would protest, but everything he's saying is true.

"Yeah… it's n-not that great."

"That's funny."

"What?"

"My dad said you had a severe stuttering problem, and that's one of the reasons you're locked up in this place, but you don't do it that much." He's right. I didn't stutter as much as I normally did, just now.

"I do u-usually."

"Your real name _is_ Tweek right?"

"… Y-Yeah."

"… Cool name." My head snaps up. I didn't expect that. I suddenly feel relaxed.

"Thank you. Yours is… pretty boring." He … He _smiles_.

"I know. You know what? I like you, Tweek. You're honest. That's a good quality. Especially for someone in … your category." My … God. He likes me! He likes me! He _likes _me! VICTORY! Someone in this world _does _like me!

"You ok?" I snap out of my thoughts, to see Craig waving a hand in my face. I spaced out. Son of a bitch, I _never_ space out.

"I'm fine. I'm… having a rough day."

"Oh yeah. I heard some kids talking about you."

"What'd they say?"

"One kid said something like, 'Hey, did you _see _Tweek jump that fat kid? It was awesome!', then another said 'Yeah, but I heard a rumor trouble makers like Tweek go to padded cells'. I _think_ that's what they said. So did you _really _go to a padded cell?"

"Yeah, but… I'm not a trouble maker Craig. Or I _try_ not to be." I expect an insult.

"Yup." I stare at him. "I can tell by looking at you. You're a nice person. My dad was right about something for once." I open my mouth to say something, but my eyes wonder to something on the table near a kettle.

"GEEZUS! COFFEE!" I run over and stroke the jar it's in.

"… It's just co… oh wait, you're addicted to it, aren't you?" I let out a heavy sigh.

"Great, now you're not gonna let me have any, are you?"

"No, let a rip. In fact, make me some too. We can be rebels _together_." He smiles evilly. Creepy yet fucking cool.

"Okay!" I say happily, then reach to … uh …

"Um … How do you make it?" Craig sighs.

"First of all … you turn the kettle on." He exaggeratedly pushes a button on the electric kettle, making sure I see.

"Then we wait for the water to boil."

"How long does it take?"

"A few minutes." I sigh and tap my fingers on the counter impatiently. Man … I finally get some coffee and I have to waiting for the freaking water to boil. After an eternity of Craig studying me and me tapping the counter, a little red light finally goes off. FINALLY!

"YES! IT'S DONE! … What now?"

"Now we spoon the coffee in the mugs." True to his word, Craig spoons the coffee in.

"Uh, you drink it black?"

"Yeah. You?"

"Oh, God no! Way too bitter. Nah, I put milk in."

"You've never drank it, have you?" Craig freezes.

"… Since you're an honest dude, I'll be honest too. No." I suppress a smile. Craig gets some milk out of the fridge and pours it in his coffee filled mug.

"Here." He hands me my precious cup of coffee. I hold it up like it's sacred or holy, in a joking way. Craig laughs. I can tell he hasn't done that in a long time.

"You really like it, huh?" I don't answer him. I'm too busy guzzling the contents in the cup down. Craig watches with a painful and surprised look on his face.

"I-Isn't that awfully hot?" For a second, I wonder what he's talking about. Then the pain hits me in the chest.

"OW, FUCK!" I grab my chest as if I'm having a heart attack. Craig holds out the kettle.

"More?"

"Yeah!" He smiles and pours me another cup. Just as I'm about to take a sip, as well as Craig, Mr Tucker opens the door and catches us in the act.

Aw, fucking hell.

"… **Craig**… Are you giving Tweek _**coffee**_?"

"Uh… yeah?"

"Craig, that's specifically what I said _not, _to do!"

" … I forgot." Craig says dully.

"Craig, you're in a mental institution. The only reason I actually brought you here today was that I trusted you enough to meet Twee- did you just flip me off?"

"No."

"Yes you did!"

"No I didn't."

"Yes you- there you did it again!"

"I didn't."

"Why'd you do that?"

"I dunno." Mr Tucker sighs. I would too. There's just no talking to a son like Craig. It's a good thing he likes me.

"Look, just don't do it again … and give me that cup of coffee Tweek!" Before I can do anything, Mr Tucker snatches the mug away from me. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

"Tweek, I'm very disappointed in you. I was hoping that we'd gotten over your addiction for this crap-

"If it's crap then why do you drink it every morning?" I interrupted. I'd heard that every adult does that from Bradley.

"Stop being a smartass! And thanks a lot for teaching him all this, Craig."

"Welcome."

"Watch it, young man. Anyway, Tweek, I'm highly disappointed in you. If you want any hope of getting out of here, you have to get over that addiction, as well as your anxiety and stuttering!" That's when I realise it.

"I'm not stuttering anymore! See!" Mr Tucker's mouth drops open.

"You… You _aren't_! What? How? Why?"

"Your welcome." We both look over to Craig, who's standing leisurely with his hands in his pockets.

"You did this, Craig?"

"I guess." Mr Tucker's mood immediately changes. It's like a transformation.

"… That's great! You'll have to visit more often, son. Tweek seems to like you a lot. Isn't that right, Tweek?"

I nod hesitantly. I don't want to sound like some kind of fan girl or … fan boy or whatever. I'm sure Craig gets enough of them at school, what with how good looking he is. Well, I think he's good looking anyway. A dude can observe.

"Craig, I think it's time we leave. We have to get you home before dark. Your mother doesn't want you to be tired at school tomorrow."

"…Ok." Mr Tucker allows me to come with them to the end of where patients like me are allowed. It happens to be the room where kids like me get daily shots and medicine. When we get to the door, Craig turns around to say goodbye. Most of the kids waiting in line, including Eric, Bradley and Thomas, ironically, stop and stare at Craig. Well Eric isn't staring. More like glaring. They must know each other somehow. Craig isn't taking notice of all the eyes on him. I don't think he's even noticed their even in the room.

"I'll come and see you tomorrow, Tweek." Mr Tucker opens his mouth to say something, but Craig gives him a look that says 'Don't fuck with me'.

"…Really?"

"Yeah. I'll come see you whenever I can, in my free time."

"Why?"

"Caus' I like you Tweek." He smiles as he says it. He said it again. He said he likes me. He _likes_ me. Not that way of course, but it's the second best thing.

"… You're a nice person Craig." I say observantly.

"You are too, Tweek." He gives a small smile, though barely there. "I'll see you tomorrow then." Then the craziest thing happens.

He _hugs _me. It's quick, but still, a hug. Before I can even comment, he waves and walks off with his father, leaving me standing dumbfounded with some nurse handcuffing me.

* * *

><p>"So Tweek, who <em>was<em> that guy?" Bradley asks me as we're getting ready for bed. I think most of the boys in the huge area of cells pause to hear my answer, since Bradley spoke so loudly.

"He was Mr Tucker's son."

"… Mr Tucker's _son_ hugged you?"

"Yeah." I say as I get in bed. I hear Bradley go 'Jesus Christ!' The lights have already been switched off by the nurse, so it's really dark. Well, it is for us anyway. They always keep the rooms with cells in really bright. Not to mention everything's white in this godamn hospital.

"But he's… he's an _outsider_!"

"He's different to the staff and Eric."

"SHHHHH! He'll hear you!" Some kid hisses from about three cells away. I look in alarm at Eric's cell, showing him fast asleep in his bed. I give a thumbs up in the air, making every patient except Eric, Bradley and I sigh in relief. I doubt anyone would want Eric to go into one of his tantrums this time of night. What just happened was a type of signal we all have. Thumbs up means 'It's alright'. Thumbs down means 'We're in trouble'. Middle finger means 'I'm in a bad mood so don't fuck with me'. Stuff like that.

"Different how?" Bradley asks in an interrogating manner.

"He's … He's nice." I don't know how to properly describe it.

"Tweek, I told you this two years ago! They pretend to be nice to gain your trust! Don't fall for their tricks."

"But he's not like that! He even gave me _coffee_."

"He did?"

"Yeah!"

"… Well, I still don't trust him."

"You treat them as if they're _aliens_, Bradley! They're just like us!"

"They _are _aliens, Tweek! And they are NOT like us! Have you forgotten everything I've taught you these past four years?"

"What are you? My father?"

"I pretty much am! Your real father doesn't even love you enough to come and visit!" Ouch. Struck a chord there, asshole.

"You shut up about him!"

"No, you shut up, you stuttering brat!"

"Stop treating me like I'm younger than you are!"

"WILL YOU BOTH JUST SHUT UP! EVERYONE WANTS TO GO TO SLEEP!" A kid about seven cells away from us yells. I sigh.

"Look Bradley, I'm sorry." I whisper, trying to make amends, even though I'm not sorry. The only reason I'm doing it is because I don't like to go to bed angry.

"Whatever. You can go _marry_ this Craig for all I care." My cheeks flush at the remark. Marry Craig? What a dream. Wait what?

I just considered marrying Craig. Well, I do like him. So I like the way he looks, speaks, and acts, and I carry a picture of him around in my pocket, but that doesn't mean I _love _him. It's just an inoccent crush, that'll disappear soon. Within a week, I bet. No doubt about it…

Then again…

Shit. I like guys.


	3. Chapter 3 Revised

"Hey, hey, hey!" I wave across the hall from me, making the Watch Kid look up.

"What time is it?" I ask him. He sighs, stops reading his picture book, and looks at his watch.

"It's 5.06pm Tweek. And can you stop asking me the time? You've done it…" The guy uses his fingers to count "… Thirty four times this afternoon."

"Sorry, I'm just excited." I grin at him and rub the back of my head.

"Why?" I'm about to answer, but Bradley decides to be a dick and interrupt me. He's still mad at me for our argument last night. I _think_ that's why he's mad. Pretty sure it is, knowing him.

"It's because he's waiting for that Craig guy." He says, not taking his eyes off the book he's reading.

"Are you serious? _That's_ why you keep asking me the time?" I shrug, looking sheepish.

"Yeah, pretty much." The Watch Kid glares. I don't understand why. It's not that hard to look at your wrist and tell someone what it says.

"… Son of a _bitch_." The three of us look at Eric. Cursing is strictly forbidden here, especially when a nurse is in the room, which there is right now. I curse all the time, but I'm smart enough to do it when staff aren't around, apart from Mr Tucker. I don't give a flying fuck what he thinks, though I suppose Craig swears a lot, so he doesn't mind me doing it. The nurse looks up from her phone and glares, but doesn't do anything.

"What is it, Eric?" I ask, rolling my eyes. We've all gotten pretty sick of his complaints, even the staff. I had to sit next to him at breakfast _and_ lunch today, because we're both being handcuffed for a week, due to fighting. He seems to have totally forgotten about yesterday, which is good. He told me to call him Cartman, because that's what his friends from the outside call him. I think he was trying to imply that he wanted to be my friend. Not to be an ass, but I'd rather stay in this prison my whole life than be friends with someone like Eric.

"My friends are coming any minute…" Eric sighs.

"I don't understand why you hate them so much. I mean, they care enough to drive five hours every few days to visit you for only like half an hour."

"Shut up, Tweek!" I give him a glare. He looks at the floor in embarrassment. After a few seconds, he speaks again. "Hey … I noticed, you don't stutter any more. What's up with that?"

"… Oh… I just … got out of habit I guess." I smiled weakly, though I know the _real_ reason why. *cough* Craig Tucker *cough*

"Right. So you say you're excited about Craig coming?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't be. He's a dick."

"So you _do_ know him."

"Yeah, I go to school with him. He's in my class."

"What's he like?" I asked, feeling interested. Eric scowls.

"Like I said before, he's a dick, always flipping people off for no reason. He's also friends with the biggest douche in the universe, Clyde."

"Clyde?"

"Yeah, he's even worse than Craig. So yeah, I mean, he pretty much hangs out with the biggest assholes in our class, so stay away from him." I sit on my bed and look down to the floor, remembering the smile Craig gave me yesterday.

"… He's not like that. At least, not to me."

"Then, you're the luckiest guy in the world, Tweek Tweak."

* * *

><p>"I can't freaking believe I have to be handcuffed everywhere outside my cell now! This fucking <em>sucks!"<em> Eric bangs his fist on out table, shaking all our glasses of water. I had to lift mine up because he's sitting right next to me.

"Live with it. You've only got about a week left here anyway." I say, sipping my water leisurely, while glaring into the distance while I'm at it. I don't like this table either.

"No I don't!" He frowns at my confused face. "Now I've got an extended two weeks because I was involved in a fight. Thanks a lot!"

I would say sorry, but my dad taught me to be honest, so I'm not gonna. I'm totally distracted anyway. All I've been able to think about all day is Craig visiting. I heard that school in the outside world ends at 3.00pm, for kids our age. It takes five hours to get here, and knowing Craig, he would try to come as soon as possible. In other words, he should be here at around 8.00pm, which is pretty lucky, since we have to be in bed by 9.00pm.

I've already accepted that I like him in a romantic way. I think it's like that type of romance, 'love at first sight', because I'm pretty sure I fell for him the moment I saw him. In fact I might've fell for him when I saw his picture. I was fascinated, that's for sure. But I doubt he'll ever return my feelings. Judging by his looks, there's at least a 80% chance that he's got a girlfriend. If not, no matter, he'll still not return my feelings, because I can tell he's straight as a line. Just my luck.

Wait…

"Hey Eric?" I ask slyly, not sure if he's still in a bad mood, which he probably is.

"… What?" What d'ya know? I was right.

"Has… Has Craig got a girlfriend?" He drops his spoon and glares at the table.

"I…

"Yes?"

"I…

"Yes!?"

"I have _no _fucking idea." Oh, for God's sake, how can he _not_ know?

…

I'm being moody. Of course he doesn't know. He said himself that he hates Craig, so how would he know about Craig's personal life? Face palm.

"Hold on, I'll ask." I'm about to inquire how he'd ask, but he takes something out of his pocket that immediately answers my question.

"Where the hell did you get a _cell_ _phone_!" I hiss as he's dialing a number.

"My mom bought it for me earlier this year." _God_.

"I meant, how the _hell_ did you sneak it in!" He ohes and nods in understanding as he's still dialing the number.

"I'd rather not say. It involves a body part that I doubt you'd want to know about." The hell?

"…What?"

"I shoved it up my ass, retard!" He yells. So loud that everyone in the room stops eating and stares. They stop once Eric flips them off. I think the nurses don't want to deal with him this time of day, so they don't do anything to him for giving all the kids in this hospital the finger. Score for Eric.

"Holy crap!" I back away from the phone, not wanting to be anywhere _near_ that thing.

"Calm down, Princess. The world's not as clean, kind and pure as you might think it is." What the hell does he mean by that? He holds the phone to his ear, waiting for someone to pick up. He suddenly starts talking, so someone must've answered.

"Hey Kyle~" He says in a sickly sweet voice, that I guess he uses to bribe people. …

"Yeah whatever. Look I need to ask you a question."…

"You know Craig? Craig…uh..."

"Tucker." I whisper.

"Craig Tucker?" …

"Yeah, uh, does he have a girlfriend?" …

"Uh huh. Ok then. Just needed to ask… ok … _ok,_ I'll see you in a few days. Ok, bye." He hangs up and sighs.

"Stupid Jew…" Eric mutters. I wait for him to tell me if Craig's dating anyone, but he doesn't.

"_Well_?"

"Oh, right. Yeah, he's dating a girl named Milly."

Oh.

Well … there goes my heart.

"I think there's a picture of her on my phone somewhere… AHA! Here it is!" He shows me the screen. I look at it closely. There's a bunch of girls in it. One has long black hair, one has long sandy blond hair, one has light red hair, and the last on has curly blond hair.

"…Which one is she?" I ask almost darkly.

"That one." He points to the one with light red hair in pig tails. She looks fairly nice, pretty smile, happy expression, but I can't help but hate her. I'm such a hypocrite. I always say never to judge people before you know them, but here I am; hating a girl I haven't even met yet, just because she's dating the guy I have a gay crush on. Nice. Eric sees I clearly don't want to look at the picture, and finally puts the phone away, to my freaking relief.

Oh well. I expected it. It's not that surprising that he's dating, I've told myself before. It's natural anyway. I should actually be ashamed of myself for liking a boy. Oh crap. What if I go to hell for this! What if I'm a sinner because I like a boy! What if-

My thoughts are put to a halt when a nurse places a mug in front of me. Everyone at my table stares, including me.

"What's this?"

"Coffee. Mr Tucker's son requested that you get one cup a day, to help reduce your addiction."

"What the hell! Why does _he_ get such special treatment? He's a trouble maker and one of the most insane kids _in_ this hell hole! Why should _he_, of all people, get what he wants?" Some handcuffed kid across from me shouts. I know him, he's always had a grudge against me for absolutely no reason. Sometimes, during the afternoons where we're all in our cells, I catch him staring at me. I can only hope he didn't come here for murdering, like Eric did.

The nurse walks from me to him, looking outraged.

"Young man, you are to apologise to Tweek Tweak right now, or you're to leave this room right now without dinner, _and_ without breakfast in the morning. Apologise now!" The kid hesitates, but then glares at her.

"No way! I'm not even sorry! You can starve me for all I care! I'll never apologise to someone like him! He's the reason people like us in mental institutions have a bad name! Did you know, Tweek, that in the outside world, there are rumours about you! When I went home for a visit, I heard so many kids saying stuff to me like 'Hey don't you belong in that asylum with that _Tweek_ kid? I heard you're all nuts! I heard that you get into fights and you're all addicted to drugs!'. People say stuff like that about us! You give us _all_ a bad name, with all your insanity! They should've kept you in a padded cell _permanently_!"

Everyone in the room stares in utter shock as the boy is dragged away by security, just like I was the day before. I'm still trying to process what the kid said to me. It's something you just don't do here. Blaming another patient for being labeled in the outside world as a 'nut', 'insane' or 'crazy', when truly, no one is to blame but yourself. I know it's not my fault people like us are known as those names, but I can't help but think it is. If people in the outside know me in particular, then there must be something that I'm doing or I've done to somehow get myself known.

"WAIT!" I yell to the security. They immediately stop to see who yelled. They stay standing when they see it's me. God knows why. I can't understand why I'm suddenly getting special treatment. I walk up to them slowly. The kid they're holding scowls at me.

"Who said those things? How does everyone know about me?" The boy smirks.

"Ask the kids in South Park. You know them. They'll tell you." South Park? That's the town my dad lives in. I think the Tuckers, Eric, and his friends live there too, but I haven't confirmed it yet. The security take the kid away, leaving me standing in the middle of the room, confused. I hear someone walk up beside me. A pair of handcuffed hands give me my cup of coffee. My eyes travel next to myself, to see Eric.

"Don't listen to that bullshit. I live in South Park. While we do talk about this hospital a lot, none of us know any of you. Name wise. Don't worry. Before I came here, I'd never even heard of you before." I nod in understanding, smiling slightly. Eric means well… sometimes, but I still have my doubts. What would that kid have to gain by lying? Nothing. That means there's a good chance he's telling the truth.

"Both of you; sit down and be quiet." A nurse points to our table. I sit down and start sipping my coffee quietly. It's even black coffee. I can't believe Craig was kind enough to ask them to give me coffee once a day, not to mention black, which I love. I wonder why. How could he treat me like such a special person when I've only known him for a day?

Once Cartman and I have sat down, a nurse stands in front of everyone.

"Now, let's all have a quiet dinner and a peaceful evening. No talking, no trouble. Just eat, then you'll all go back to your cells nicely. Some of you will then be visited perhaps."

I look around for people I know. Thomas is sitting a few tables away, looking at me sympathetically. I spot Bradley. He's looking at me too. I'm about to smile at him, but then I see his face.

It's anything _but_ sympathetic.

* * *

><p>Waiting for Craig.<p>

Waiting for Craig.

Waiting for Craig.

I bang my head against the back wall of my cell, which is the only one that isn't glass. I can tell about half the kids are staring at me. The others are either used to my weirdness or just don't care. Eric's one of the people staring at me. I look to see what Bradley's doing. Ok, apparently, he's one of the people that don't care. He's got his back turned to me. I think he's studying.

That's another thing. Believe it or not, we get school here. Opposite of the outside way. We have school on Saturdays and Sundays, and we have free time (apart from talking with our psychologists and medication) on all the other days. We're put in small classes of ten, depending on our intelligence. I'm in one of the lowest classes, along with Thomas, because we were both put in here at a very young age and didn't have a chance to attend anything above pre-school. Bradley's two years older than me, so he was able to attend school for a bit before he came here, but that's not why he's in the top class. He's one of the smartest kids I've ever met, always studying and trying to get the top marks for tests.

Anyway, he's got his back to me. I don't understand it. Lately, he's been a real ass to me. Maybe it has something to do with Craig. Oh yeah, Craig.

"Hey!" I wave to the Watch Kid, trying to get his attention. He's coloring a drawing in a notebook with crayons, which is pretty childish, considering he's about three or four years older than me. He looks up from the drawing and glares.

"Not _again_?" I nod, looking desperate. He sighs and looks at his wrist.

"7.04pm." NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Still an hour until he comes, at least! Just kill me now! Just-

"Tweek Tweak? You're to go to Dr Tucker's office right now. His son is waiting for you."

Don't kill me now.

"Hey Tweek." Craig gives me a radiant smile as I walk in. Mr Tucker says I have to be handcuffed while seeing Craig from now on, just to be safe. What does he think I'm gonna do? Go all 'Hannibal Lecter' on his son?

"Hello…Why are you here so early? I didn't expect you to come till at least eight. It's a five hour journey here! And school ends at three, right?" I hope his dad didn't speed and get a ticket. I read in a book if you drive too fast you get a ticket.

"My dad let me leave school an hour early. You should've seen everyone's faces! They were so jealous that I was let out early. It was hilarious." My thoughts travel back to what Eric said earlier.

"Why do you hang out with assholes?" Craig's smile goes from radiant to non-existent.

"Who said that?"

"Eric Cartman." Craig's jaw drops open.

"How the hell do you know him?"

"Don't you know? He's a patient here, and will be for the next three weeks." Craig leans back in his chair and stares into space, looking bewildered.

"I knew he'd been sent to a mental hospital, but not _this_ one."

"He's in the cell next to me." Craig's head snaps up. He stands up and grabs my shoulders, half-frightening me.

"WHAT? Tweek, you need to understand something. He's a hater. He likes Nazis and he's just plain evil. I don't want you to go near him. Or his friends. They're all just plain trouble."

"He said you were a dick because you flip people off and that your friend Clyde's a douche. Is that true?"

"Look Tweek. I'm trouble. I'll admit it. I flip people off, I'm anti-social, I'm not smart, and I hate a _lot _of people, but I try. And Clyde, well, I'll admit he can be an ass at times, but he's really a good guy at heart. So yeah, we're not the kindest people in the world. But Cartman … he belongs here, Tweek. Unlike you, I'm pretty sure he's actually insane. You know the reason he's here, right?"

"He killed someone's parents and then fed them to the said person."

"Yeah. And the only reason he did it was because Scott Tenorman, the victim, played some pranks on him. That's crazy, to do something like that for such a childish reason. He's done other things too. Much worse stuff … anyway, what I'm saying is for you to stay away from him."

" … He's sorta friends with me though."

"WHAT! ARE YOU NUTS! HOW COULD Y-

"Why did you ask the staff to give me coffee every day?" He glares for being interrupted.

"…It'll help you get over your addiction."

"How does giving me _more_ coffee help me get over the addiction?"

"You get used to having only one cup a day, like a normal person, then you won't want to have so much anymore."

"I never thought of it that way…"

"Don't worry. When you get out of here, which is soon, you'll be able to attend the same school as me, and we'll probably be in the same class. And you'll catch up with us, no doubt."

"That'd be cool. I doubt I'm ever gonna leave here though. All the staff seem to hate me, and I'm also considered the most crazy kid here."

"Don't believe that, Tweek. You're not normal, but you're not crazy, and to be truthful, you seriously don't belong here." He leans toward me. I think he's gonna kiss me for a second.

"Between you and I, my dad is working really hard with a lawyer to try and get you out of here. No one knows about it but me, my dad, and the lawyer, so keep quiet about it. If a nurse or something hears, they'll keep you locked up in a padded cell and fire my dad. That would suck, because I'd never be able to see you again." He whispers cautiously.

"…Do you like me, Craig?" He seems startled by the question.

"Sure I do. You're cool, and a good friend. Not _that_ way though." He smiles as if it's a big joke, like it's actually funny, even though that's the last thing in the world I'd ever want to hear him say.

"No, not that way. That'd be _weird_." I play along. I remember the incident at dinner earlier.

"Craig, do people in the outside talk about me?" He looks at me in a confused way.

"The outside?"

"You know; the outside world."

"What?"

"…The… the place outside this hospital…"

"Oh … right. I've heard people talk about this hospital, and most of them ask me about it, because my dad works here, but I've never heard anyone mention you before. So no. Why?"

"There was an incident at dinner today. A kid lost it and yelled at me that kids in the outside spread rumours and all know about me."

"Don't believe that bullshit Tweek." I realise something and start laughing.

"What is it?"

"You just agreed with Cartman. He said it was bullshit too. That's funny, since you guys hate each other."

He smiles and starts laughing as well. Our moment of happiness is then interrupted by Mr Tucker opening the door. He sees us and blushes. I realize Craig is sitting right next to me, which I doubt he does to people on a regular basis. He thinks his son is trying to advance on me, probably.

Craig glares at Mr Tucker. The reason, I don't know.

"I have to go now, if I have any hope of attending school tomorrow. I can't come and see you tomorrow, but I'll try and come the next day." My heart sinks. Disappointment alert.

"…Alright. I guess I'll see you then."

Mr Tucker once again allows me to walk them to my limit of space. Once we get to the door, Craig turns around to say bye. My mood's turned into a brooding one now, since I've realised there's no hope for him and me. He doesn't like me that way, he's dating someone, and there's a good chance he loves her. Might as well kill me now.

"Don't worry, I'll definitely come soon."

**"…I'm sure you will." **Oh God. _That _mode's appeared.

"You're such a great friend. I like you Tweek. Not _that_ way though." He smiles again at the joke that he'd made only about fifteen minutes earlier. This time, I don't smile back. Craig sees this and stops smiling.

"You okay?"

**"…I hope you're happy with Milly."** Craig's eyes widen. I guess he didn't expect me to know about her.

"How-

**"You shouldn't worry so much about me, especially when you've got school, friends, and a love to worry about."**

"Twee-

**"It's ok. One day, you'll get a good job, marry Milly, have children, and die peacefully. And I'll stay here in a glass cell for the rest of my life. That's how it's supposed to be, and that's how it **_**will **_**be."**

"W-What the hell are you talking abou-

**"I'll see you afterwards. Maybe."** I see Craig flinch at the hidden meaning of 'afterwards'. I then close the door to the outside before he can say anything. I turn to see all the kids in the room (getting medication), looking at me. Including Eric.

He pushes the nurse (next to him) away and runs up to me.

"Tweek, what the hell was that about?" I don't reply, just stare at the ground with a gloomy look on my face.

"Hey, you're jealous right? I could tell by the look on your face when you first saw that bitch Milly." There's no point in lying to this guy. He'll get the truth out of you, one way or another. Not to mention how much in common the two of us have. If I can read _him _like a book, I'm sure he can do the same to me. I nod slightly, so he's just barely able to see. I see a movement in his arm. His hand's hovering just above my shoulder. He hesitates and lowers his hand again. Son of a bitch. He was trying to comfort me. I guess even Eric Cartman can be a kind person.

"Will you be alright Tweek?"

I laugh bitterly at Cartman's question.

**"**_**No**_**."**


	4. Chapter 4 Revised

So _this _is what depression feels like.

Not caring about anything but negativity. Wanting to just curl up into a ball and die. Purely hating yourself. Thoughts always locked onto the very thing that caused your misery.

My thoughts are locked onto Craig, Milly, my father, Bradley, and most of all, my insanity. I understand now, why I've been kept here for so many years. I really _am_ mentally unstable. I'm not fit for the outside world and all that social crap. It's no wonder no one in the world will ever love me. That's how it's _supposed_ to be. It's fate.

There always has to be people in this world that belong locked up, because of their minds. I'm just unlucky, and had to be one of them, while Craig's one of the lucky ones, that'll live a normal life, then go to heaven when he dies, and I'll probably go to hell, unless God somehow takes pity on me. It was just a coincidence that two different people like us got to meet, and it was just more of my bad luck that I happened to fall for him. That's my theory of what my life is anyway.

Bradley… he's complicated. He means well, but he's too … non-trusting. Too non-social. Anything from the outside world is considered enemy to him, which, even though I'm scared of anything outside this hospital, I think is pretty stupid. Most of the patients in here would give anything to leave here, including me. It's like a goal for us. I can't remember the reason he's one of my best friends, but he was the one who wanted to be friends, not me. Not that I don't _like_ the guy, he's nice enough, but I just wish I had a friend that would be willing to do anything, just to make me smile.

My father … I'm _pretty_ sure he loves me, even though I'm one of the craziest kids around. Though then again, if he lets his own son stay in a hospital like this for so long, then maybe he doesn't love me. He must somehow care for me though, since he went through so much trouble when I was younger to give me my medicine.

None of it matters though. In the end, I'm still crazy, Craig's still sane and likes Milly, Bradley is still hateful of the outside, and my father'll never want me to come home.

* * *

><p>We're all in our cells, after four hours of staying in separate classrooms, listening to some crappy teacher drone on about algebra. I think it's dumb. What the hell do letters have to do with math anyway? Math uses numbers, everybody knows that. It's ridiculous.<p>

The Watch Kid is counting his crayons, probably trying to make sure all the colours are still there, and not taken by one of the nurses. Nurses always come and check or cells for weapons and drugs twice a week while we're all at 'school'. I once had one of my favourite books taken. The nurses seem to somehow find pleasure in stealing precious items from all of us. The bitches. All of them.

Bradley's reading a book and writing notes about it, probably for an essay he has to do on it for English. Lately, he's been doing nothing but studying, homework and essays in his free time. I know him. He's trying to distract himself from something, I just don't know what. Eric's cutting out pictures from a picture book and pasting them in a notebook, just for fun, I guess.

**WARNING: SELF-HARM. **

… He's using round tipped scissors.

**"Hey. Hey Cartman?"** Eric stops cutting and looks up, startled by my voice.

**"...Can I see those scissors?"** I ask darkly, eyeing them almost longingly.

"Why?"

**"Well, I've never seen round tipped ones before, being here for so long and all…"**

"Oh … alright." He passes me them through one of the holes in the glass wall between us.

I study them closely. They're pink with yellow flowers on. They're round at the top, so you can't stab yourself. The blades are pretty sharp though… to make you able to cut stuff. They're still scissors after all.

I seriously don't know what comes over me. I grab one of the blades and press it to my left wrist, trying to draw blood. I don't get why. Maybe that's what depression does to you. Eric sees immediately, automatically covers his eyes, and starts screaming. He screams so loud that all the kids look up from what they're doing in their cells. They see me and start screaming as well. Bradley finally looks up to see what all the screaming's about. His reaction isn't to scream like all the others. I think he's too shocked to scream. He just sits there with a look of horror on his face as I try to slit my left wrist.

I'm not succeeding. I've cut myself, but it's not even deep enough to draw blood. It hurts either way. Not as much as I thought it would though, which is good. Still, my eyes start to water from the feeling.

The nurses come sprinting in, looking for where the scene that's causing everyone to scream is taking place. They know something bad's going on. Don't act like _you_ wouldn't be freaked out if you were a nurse, walking/sitting outside, minding your own business, then you suddenly hear all the child patients in the hospital start screaming, so suddenly. It's pretty traumatising, the way I would imagine it.

A few nurses soon see it's me everyone's screaming at, and run over towards my cell, followed by the rest of the nurses. There are about eleven of them. One of them stops outside my cell and grabs the keys out of her pocket, fumbling for the right one with shaking hands. I'm still trying to cut myself. I've succeeded in cutting myself deep enough to draw blood. It really hurts now.

**END SELF-HARM SCENE**

Looks like the pain won't last much longer. The nurse finally finds the right key and opens the door, allowing her and the rest of them to come inside. One of them immediately snatches the scissors from me and tosses them aside in the corner, far from my reach. Another two grab me to stop me from trying to run away. I'm trying to hit them in order to get away; though I know I'm gonna fail. They drag me outside so the boys wouldn't have to see such a scene.

Once we're outside, a nurse slaps me in the face, making me instantly still and stop struggling. I didn't know they're allowed to do that. I hold my good hand up to my cheek shakily. The nurse who just slapped me glowers.

"It serves you right, you little brat. What the hell is _wrong _with you? How could you harm yourself like that? After what happened to Bradley!" I death glare her. So much that she flinches.

"…T-Take him away."

Two nurses grab me and take me to the room where they give kids shots. Oh crap, are they gonna give me one? Looks like they are. One nurse grabs my wrist and tries to stop the cut from bleeding, while the other puts some kind of liquid in a needle. It's not the medicine they usually give me. I can tell by the colour.

"Stay still." Yeah right. Like I'm gonna stay still in this situation. I tried to kill myself with safety scissors, was slapped in the face by a pissed off nurse, and now they want me to be quiet and take a shot. Bullshit.

**"NO! J-JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!"**

"I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU! JUST TAKE THE GODDAMN SHOT! WE NEED TO GET YOU TO HOPITAL AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!" I can see why. The nurse totally failed to stop the bleeding. It's dripping everywhere on the floor, and at this rate, I'll lose too much blood. It's all so much pressure.

**"JUST LEAVE ME ALONE! I DON'T CARE IF I DIE! THIS IS ... IS TOO MUCH PRESSURE FOR ME! I CAN'T HANDLE IT!"**

"DO SOMETHING!" The nurse with the needle yells at the other one, waving her hands frantically. The other nurse looks around confusingly, then punches me on the head. It's so hard that I go dizzy.

"Do it now!" She says. The nurse with the needle nods and, before I can come to my senses and stop her, gives me the shot in my arm. Wow, this shot is different to my usual ones. Usually, it stings for a second, then goes away. This one doesn't sting, but it sort of … aches. What the hell did they give me?

"Why isn't it working?" The nurse with the needle asks alarmingly. The other one studies the bottle and sighs in relief.

"Don't worry; it says it takes a minute to take effect."

"How do you feel Tweek? Woozy or anything?" …

"… aig…" Finally, I've stopped speaking in _that _voice.

"What was that?"

"… I want ... to see Craig."

"Craig Tucker? He's five hours away and at school right now. There's no _way_ you can see him, _especially_ after what you just did."

"Will… Will I be punished?"

"Of course you will. You won't stay in hospital long." I'm starting to feel tired. Maybe I didn't get enough sleep last night. That happens a lot.

"Will my father come to visit me?" The nurses freeze and exchange glances worriedly. One answers in a shaky voice.

"I think he's busy, Tweek."

"Doesn't he care enough to even visit his son when he's attempted suicide!" I screech angrily, glaring at the tiled floor. It's, of course, white.

"He does care! He just … can't come, that's all." Jeez, now I'm even more sleepy.

"You alright, sweetie?" Sweetie? Man, I can't remember the last time a nurse's called me that. Maybe just after when I'd arrived here. When I still looked cute and half-normal.

"I feel really tired."

"That's great. The drug's working."

Oh.

"W-What the _hell_ did you give me?"

"Just a sedative."

"You _sedated_ me! What am I, a serial killer! I think I can go to the hospital _without_ being drugged! I'm almost ten, for God's sake!"

"Calm down. The drug will help you relax. You look really stressed." Well no shit. I just attempted _suicide_, retard.

Oh crap, I'm falling asleep. I can barely even open my eyes.

"Yes! It's taking effect."

Nice to know, bitch.

* * *

><p>I wake up to see Mr Tucker leaning over me. He smiles when I open my eyes.<p>

"Oh thank _God_! You're awake." I try to move, but my body's too exhausted. That sedative was something else.

"How long have I been out?"

"About four hours. You'll be allowed to leave here once the sedative wears off." I nod weakly, purposely not looking him in the eye.

"The nurses told me you said you wanted to see Craig."

"…Can I?" I ask in a soft voice.

"No, he's in South Park right now."

"…Does he know?"

"Yes. I called him and told him what happened."

"…"

"Why did you do it Tweek?"

"I'm not entirely sure myself. I just did it." Mr Tucker sighs and rubs his temples.

"I think…" He looks up instantly.

"…I think I might be depressed."

"Why would you be depressed?"

"… I have a lot of problems…"

"What are they?" I glare at him. I'm planning to do the silent treatment thing.

"Tweek, it's my job to help you with your problems." Oh, what the hell.

"…Well, first of all… there's my insanity. Then there's the fact that both Bradley and my father hate me…"

"Tweek, first of all, you're not insane. You have some problems. But if you get rid of them, you're ready to leave the hospital. You've already gotten rid of your stuttering, now you just have to get rid of your anxiety, shaking, and coffee addiction. And Bradley's a complicated kid. He just doesn't trust people, and I don't think he likes the fact that you've gotten so close to Craig… and Eric Cartman."

"What about my father?"

"Your father … loves you Tweek, and don't ever think he didn't, I mean doesn't." I nod slowly, staring at my doctor.

"Why do you like me in particular? You could've let Craig meet any of the other boys, but you picked me."

"… Simple. I knew Craig would like you. He's always finding his friends so boring, and claims life's better boring, but I can tell he was unhappy with his life. I instantly thought of you, Tweek. You're anything _but_ boring. I told him you're a really fun person, and, though he didn't act like it, he was really interested in meeting you." I grimace. I don't want to know that. It hurts me to think about Craig wanting to meet me.

"… How _nice_ of him."

"…"

"…"

"…You're in love with my son, aren't you?" I jump and look at him alarmingly. Holy shit. This dude _is _smart. Though, he doesn't act like it most of the time.

"I-Is it that obvious?"

"Tweek, I'm a psychologist. I think I'd notice if someone's in love with my own son. And yes, it is obvious." I hang my head and sigh.

"That's why you did it, isn't it?"

"Did what?"

"Attempted suicide. You were heartbroken because he was with that little girl Milly, right?" I give a small nod, remembering the photo of Milly.

"Well, I'm happy to report, she dumped him yesterday during school."

"W-What?"

"Craig told me. When I picked him up early from school yesterday, he told me in the car. He said she broke up with him because she thinks he's 'obsessed' with you. Apparently, all he talks about in school is how he met you, and how 'awesome' you are. She got sick of him and broke up with him. He didn't really care though. He was just focusing on seeing you again. I don't think he loves you that way Tweek, but he definitely does love you in some way. Most likely as a borther, or really close friend."

"Oh well, better than nothing…" I smile weakly. Mr Tucker returns the smile.

"To be honest, Tweek, I'd rather Craig be with you than any of those dumb girls at his school. You're one of a kind… and you're like a son to me. Craig _should_ love you that way, with how generous you are."

That's the kindest thing anyone's ever said to me. Too bad it had to come from Mr Tucker. I still don't like him very much.

* * *

><p>"Alright Tweek, I have to go to an important staff meeting. I'm trusting you to go back to your cell by yourself. You'll have to be handcuffed though." Mr Tucker says as he handcuffs me, being careful around my left wrist.<p>

"What? Wouldn't you normally get a nurse to escort me there?"

"We're going to give you more freedom from now on."

"Why do I get such special treatment?"

"Because you _are_ special. It's called _special_ treatment, after all. Look, I really have to go. Just go back to your cell and don't cause trouble." Mr Tucker walks away in a rush, leaving me standing handcuffed in the hallway, kids with nurses walking by and staring.

"Sorry Mr Tucker, but I'm gonna have to break your trust." I start to head in the direction of where he went. What can I say? I wanna know what's _so_ important that he doesn't even have the time to call a nurse for me. Too bad this hospital is like a maze. I turn into a different hall with a million doors. Fuck, which one is he in? In fact, is he even _in_ this hall? All the doors have labels on, thank God. After looking at about eight doors, I see one with 'Meeting Room' on the door. I silently cheer. I can hear people arguing inside, so I lean against the door to hear better. My hearing's pretty good, thank goodness.

"His father's will says he left Tweek's custody to _me_! Why should _you_ go against his wishes!" I hear Mr Tucker shout. My father's will? What the hell?

"I'm his Godfather! I have the _right _to take him as my own. If you don't believe me, look at his birth certificate." What the fuck? That's my uncle. I haven't seen him since I was four. At my mother's funeral.

"Will you both just stop arguing? Nothing's going to be solved while shouting at each other. The main focus is that Tweek's father is dead." …My dad's _dead_…?

"How did he die again?" A doctor I know asks.

"Overdose of caffeine. He drank too much coffee and his body couldn't handle it." Some nurse says.

"Can we get back to the issue here? Custody of Tweek goes to me, his Godfather."

"What about Mr Tweek's will though? It's says he specifically wanted Tweek to be with me if he died." No way. If I'm with Mr Tucker, then that means I'll be Craig's adopted _brother_. Worst nightmare.

"Screw the will! I'm now his legal guardian! I'm the only blood-related family he has left anyways, apart from my kids. He needs to be with me, though I'm sure he's never going to leave here."

"I deserve to be his adoptive father! I'm trying my best to get him out of here and with a proper family, unlike _you_, you fucking drunk!" I don't know what to be most shocked at. My father's sudden death, my doctor calling my uncle a fucking drunk, or the fact that Mr Tucker actually swore. I remember Mr Tucker's words earlier.

"... _and you're like a son to me."_

"I'm Tweek's lawyer, and I recommend you give up custody of Tweek."

"You shut up! He's my nephew, and I own him!"

"I'm prepared to take you to court, but I hope it won't come to that."

"You're gonna sue me? What the hell do you have against me?"

"I had security cameras planted around your home, showing that you get drunk and physically abuse your children on a regular basis. By the way, your children are going to live with their mother from now on."

"WHAT?"

"If you don't want to be arrested right now, you'll hand Tweek over to the person his father wanted him to be with."

"…Fine then. Only on one condition though."

"And what is that?"

"I get to see him once a week. He's my nephew. He deserves to see his family."

"… You can visit him, but he's not staying with you overnight."

"Done." I hear someone stomping towards the door. Shit. Before I can even move, my uncle opens the door and sees me.

"Tweek? Is that you? What the hell are you doing?" I see everyone in the room freeze behind him. Mr Tucker stands up and walks towards the door. He roughly shoves my uncle out of the way and grabs my shoulders. I'm too shocked to even look at him. Give me a break. I'm _nine_.

"Tweek, what did you hear?" I try to say 'everything', but no sound comes out my mouth. Dear Lord, I hope I didn't go mute again. Mr Tucker reads my lips.

"Tweek, we were planning to tell you tomorrow. Look, your uncle isn't fit to take care of you, and your father said in his will that he wanted me to take care of you."

"…B…But … then…"

"What was that?"

"But then Craig and I are bro…" I can't even say the word.

"I know Tweek. That's why I was concerned that you love him, in _that_ way." Someone behind us clears his throat.

"The papers?" Mr Tuckers sighs dejectedly and turns back to me.

"I have no choice, Tweek. It's what's best for you." He pats my shoulder comfortingly, and walks back in, signing papers that probably make him my legal guardian. I freeze. The staff in the room all sigh and start walking out, some doctors giving me glances of remorse as they pass me. I guess they feel guilty for always treating like I'm Ted Bundy or pretty much any other serial killer.

So that's it then. Craig may love me in some kind of way, but I'm pretty sure he's straight. And now I have to be his adopted _brother_. If that's how it's gonna have to be, I think I'd rather stay in this institute for the rest of my living days.

* * *

><p>"Now get in your cell! Stop causing so much trouble for everyone and just try to get better." A nurse says as she shoves me in my cell. Her voice has a much softer tone than usual though. Perhaps she pities me for all that's happened today.<p>

"Alright, I will. Sorry for causing you all the trouble." The nurse looks shocked that I didn't glare or talk back to her. I'm not surprised. I _never_ apologise for anything. She reaches out. I flinch because I think she's gonna hit me. She definitely didn't do that.

She patted my head and _smiled_.

"You be good then, sweetie." There it is _again_. A nurse called me sweetie. I guess that's how they act when you behave. Pat you on the head and call you things like 'sweetie', 'honey', or 'sweetheart'.

I look around. All the little kids are sleeping, but the older ones are all staring at me. Now I know how Bradley felt when _he_ came back from the hospital. Speaking of Bradley, even he's looking at me. God, I just realised I'm such a hypocrite. I remember how I endlessly told Bradley that stuff like suicide and self-harm is wrong, then I do it. I look to my left.

Eric's facing me, but he refuses to look me in the eye. I guess he didn't expect someone like me to be suicidal. Well, that's what you get when you make friends with a crazy person. I search around my room. I smile as I spot the round tipped scissors. I pick them up and study them. They're pretty clean, but on one blade there's a small line of dried blood. I grab a tissue out of a box and rub it off. Eric watches fearfully as I approach him.

"Here. I'm sorry about what happened. I know it traumatised you." I smile apologetically as I hand him the scissors through one of the holes in the glass. He shakily takes them, and finally looks into my eyes. He's been crying, I can tell that much. He was probably blaming himself for what happened because he gave me the scissors. All the kids have stopped staring by now. They're trying to sleep. The lights were turned off almost two hours ago. I guess all the older kids were waiting to see if I would come back. When I looked at a clock in the hallway just a few minutes ago, it said 10.41pm.

"I'm really sorry, Eric."

"I-It's alright. I've seen worse stuff."

"…Were you crying?" Eric realises what he looks like and rubs his eyes.

"I… was thinking of my friend, that's all…"

"Kyle?"

"Don't be dumb, that Jew isn't my friend."

"Stan?"

"Oh, God no. He's even worse than the Jew."

"…Kenny?"

"No, not him."

"Who then?"

"…og…"

"_What_?"

"CLYDE FROG OKAY?" I'm guessing he's a stuffed doll or something, with a name like that.

"Alright then, if you say so." Maybe Eric really is caring. He's only known me for what… three days? And he cried for me. He _cried _for me. I guess I'll pay him back with something he wants. I'll _call _him what he wants.

"Well, well, well. What was that about 'self-harm's wrong', Tweek?" I half-turn around and glare at Bradley. Cartman glares too. I can see why Bradley's pissed, but seriously.

"You shut the fuck up, Bradley!" All three of us turn to the new voice. It's _Thomas_.

"I am _sick_, of you, acting like an _asshole_ to Tweek for _three_ days, for absolutely _no_ reason at all! Just stop being a dick, for _once_ in your life! No one wants to put up with your bullshit, so shut up!"

"Yeah, he's right! Now shut the fuck up and leave Tweek alone." The Watch Kid yells.

Bradley flips both of them off and goes back to his reading. At night time lately, for about the past two weeks, Bradley's been staying up till like two in the morning, trying to catch up on his reading. Like he even needs to. He uses a little flash light to be able to see. It's annoying 'caus the bright light makes it hard for lots of us to sleep, including me.

I give Thomas and the Watch Kid a nod in thanks. Cartman decides to _voice_ his thanks.

"Thanks Thomas! Thanks Kevin!" Kevin huh? Wait…

"How the _hell _did you know his name?"

"…He's Kenny's brother, Kevin McCormick. Didn't I tell you?"

"No. But if he's Kenny's brother, why doesn't Kenny ever talk to him?"

"…They sort of…don't get along…right Kevin?" Kevin nods and tries to sleep. I can barely see him, since it's so dark.

"Well anyway, I'm gonna try and sleep. This has been a freaking weird day." I wouldn't call it a _weird_ day. More like a _fucked_ _up_ day.

I might as well try to sleep too, after the rough day I've had. I give one last look at Bradley as I get into bed. He's still reading, but he looks really tired. He's really pushing himself too much. All for the sake of good grades.

* * *

><p>I wake up from hearing a noise, like a door opening and closing. Probably a nurse leaving the room or something. I look next to me to see what Bradley's doing.<p>

He's fallen asleep while reading. The flash light's still on, pointing to Thomas' cell.

I turn back around and close my eyes, trying to sleep again. It's wierd. I feel like someone's in the room with me. There's obviously no one, but… just to be on the safe side, I should check. I open my eyes again and immediately see a fucking figure looming above me. HOLY SHIT! I almost scream, but then my eyes quickly adjust and I recognise the person.

"_**C-CRAIG**_?"


	5. Chapter 5 Revised

"_**C-CRAIG?**_" Craig immediately 'ssshs' me, looking around himself cautiously, a worried expression on his face. I realise how loud I just yelled, and look around as well. I don't know how, but _none_ of the kids woke up. Not even Cartman or Bradley, who are both right next to me. I turn back to Craig, shaking, afraid someone's gonna wake up and spot him. He'd be in so much trouble.

"W-What the hell are you _doing_ here!" I hiss urgently, wanting him to leave. Well actually, I'd love him to stay, but it'd be a nightmare if he got caught. A _nightmare_.

"Don't be dumb Tweek. I got in a car and came over here the minute my dad phoned me and said you attempted suicide." I felt my heart rise.

"Really?"

"Duh. Are you okay now?" I nod, looking at my bandaged wrist. Craig stares at it with an unreadable expression.

"…L-Look, we need to get out of here."

"Why?" Craig takes his phone out of his pocket, flips it open, and stares at the screen. He puts it back in his pocket and looks back at me, a serious look on his face.

"My dad called and told me four hours ago… that we're now brothers by adoption…"

"…"

"…Is it true, Tweek?"

"…Yeah, it is. I saw your dad sign the papers myself."

"That's why then."

"What?"

"That's why we've gotta get outta here. Look… I'm _not_ gonna be your brother." That's good. I don't wanna be his brother either.

…Then again, I have a reason, which is that I like him in a romantic way. Craig almost definitely doesn't like me that way… so what's _his _reason for not wanting to be brothers? Is it because I'm crazy?

"Is… Is there something wrong with being my brother?" Craig eyes his shoes, not looking sure what to say. It's the first time I've seen him like this. He's usually so confident and sure, not timid and silent.

"…No… that's not it. It's just…" He looks deep in thought, with no idea what to say. He catches me staring and shakes his head. He pulls some keys out his pocket and looks for the right number of my cell. He finds the correct key and immediately opens the door. I step out, feeling weird outside my room with no handcuffs on. Craig takes my hand and starts pulling me towards the exit.

"What the hell?"

"Quiet! I told you, we're getting out of here." He opens the door as quietly as possible.

"Yeah, but where-

"Sssssh! The nurse is right _there_!" Craig hisses in a barely audible whisper, pointing to some sleeping nurse on a chair. Nurses take turns at night sitting outside, so if one of us presses our buzzer to go to the bathroom, they can come in almost immediately. They almost always fall asleep though, so you keep having to press your buzzer so much that you wake up all the patients, let alone the nurse. Happens a lot.

We slowly step past the nurse and kept walking down the hall to the elevator. I like the elevator a lot. It's just better than stairs. Before Craig was introduced, for whatever reason I would have to go down, I would have to take the stairs. I'm allowed to take the elevator whenever I want now. A nurse told me earlier.

Craig presses the down button. About ten seconds later, the elevator arrives. Craig pushes me to the side and looks in the elevator. Once he sees no one's inside, he quickly pulls me in, afraid that a nurse heard the 'ding' of the elevator.

"What the hell was _that _about?"

"If someone was inside, they would've seen you."

"They would've seen you either way!"

"Yeah, but I could've said my dad forgot me here or something." I face palmed. Like _that_ would ever work.

"Ok, say some doctor's in here, they see you, and by some miracle, they believe your dad 'forgot' you here, they step out, and see me… then what?"

"…I didn't think about that." I stare. This guy… scares me and attracts me at the same time. Seriously, this is fucked up.

An awkward silence forms between us, which is pretty dumb, with how close we are. I know why _I'm_ feeling awkward. I'm in love with this guy after all, and we're in an elevator _alone_ together. It's like a dream come true. Well, we've been alone together _before_, but… I dunno, that's just different. I just don't understand why Craig feels awkward. It's not like he _loves_ me or anything… oh, fuck, what if he's found out I like him romantically? I _did_ tell his dad, after all.

Oh no. I really hope that's not the case.

The elevator finally arrives at the ground floor. I silently pray there's no one waiting at the door. There isn't. I make a move to step out, but Craig grabs the back of my shirt and pulls me down to the floor of the elevator.

"WHA-

Craig covers my mouth and soundlessly points to the front of the building. I look on to see the front desk, reception, sign in desk, whatever you wanna call it. There are a lot of ladies there, all of which are awake, and don't look like they'll fall asleep any time soon. They're probably on a night only shift, so they spent the day before sleeping, so they'd be wide awake for this. I also bet they have a shitload of coffee. Lucky.

I think the hospital does this so that even if kids like me escape and make it to this point, the ladies (with their sharp, wide awake senses) would spot them immediately and handcuff them. I've heard rumours that the staff in this part of the building all carry handcuffs for situations such as these. I understand why Craig pulled me down now. If I'd walked even one step out, they'd have all seen me immediately. Thankfully, they're all so concentrated on paper work, that none of them heard the 'ding' of the elevator.

The elevator door moves to close, but I quickly stop it with my hand. Craig gets closer to me, making me blush, of course. Damn my innocence. He starts whispering to me.

"Okay, on three, we're gonna crawl as _fast _as we can out this elevator. Once we're out, we both stay still, and on the floor, or else they'll see us. And try and be as _quiet_ as possible. You understand?" I nod slowly, slightly scared. I've never attempted an escape before.

Bradley and Thomas did once. They invited me to come as well, but I was smart enough to know they'd fail, so of course, I said no. As I thought, they failed miserably. They didn't even reach the elevator. It's such a shame, really, since they put so much effort into planning every detail. Bradley, who planned it, forgot one detail, which was pretty important, which was not to be spotted in the hallway. As soon as they managed to get out of the huge room where all our cells are, and sneaked past the sleeping nurse, they ran straight into a doctor on his way home, making Thomas scream, waking the nurse, and causing them to both be caught. They should've also done it way late in the night, like Craig and I, so that there's almost no chance of running into staff in the hallway.

"Okay…" I snap out of my thoughts and get ready to crawl out, before this thing tries to shut again. "… One, two, three!" We make a dash for it and, lucky for us, make it out just as the elevator door closes. I think a lady looks up just as we get in front of the huge desk.

"Did you hear that, Sylvia?"

"What?"

"The elevator was just here…and it opened… but no one came out…"

"That's funny…" I hear the lady stand up.

"_Shit_…" Craig mutters next to me. I can see the lady above us, leaning over the desk, looking at the elevator door to see if any escapees are lying on the floor outside the elevator, trying to hide. Thank God Craig was smart enough to remember we had to get below the desk, or else she would've spotted us for sure. And thank God the lady didn't look down.

"There's no one there. It was probably one of the doctors on a late shift on their way home, that forgot something, and went back up."

"Oh yeah, that's possible."

"Now shut up. I need to finish this report to the authorities."

"Authorities?"

"Yeah. Apparently some doctors and nurses want to sue Tweek Tweak, and I have to do the complaint for them." Craig and I immediately freeze, especially Craig.

"What could you _possibly _sue a kid his age for?"

"I think the same thing happened with that Bradley kid way back. You know how Tweek tried to kill himself earlier today, right?"

"Yeah, I heard."

"Well those dumb nurses are convinced that Tweek had a knife for the purpose of harming other patients. It's stupid, because they interviewed all the patients separately, and they _every single one_ said he used round tipped safety scissors, and that they belonged to Eric Cartman. Eric _himself_ said that they were his. But the nurses were just like 'Oh, they're all lying. We bet they made a pact to never tattle on each other. Tweek definitely had a knife.' They just want to get rid of the kid, that's all. Just like Bradley, he's a trouble maker, and they want him gone."

"That's retarded. They should know there're trouble makers. It's a _mental_ _institution_."

"That's what I thought, too. I like Tweek Tweak. He's a sweet boy. I met him once when he first came here. I felt so sorry for him because he was so young and confused. Then I kept hearing rumours of stuff he and his friends kept doing, and today I practically had a heart attack when I heard he'd attempted suicide. The poor kid. It breaks my heart that I have to send a complaint about him to the police, and he hasn't even done anything wrong." I remember the lady now. I _did_ meet her once. She was sooooooo nice. Lovely smile.

"Yeah, poor thing. But recently, I've noticed that kid, Craig Tucker… you know, Thomas Tucker's son? Yeah anyway, he's been coming to visit Tweek lately. What's up with that? They're like complete opposites. What a weird friendship."

"I actually heard that Tweek's father died a week ago, and today Dr. Tucker officially adopted Tweek. So they're brothers now. Maybe that's why Dr. Tucker let his son hang around with Tweek recently." Craig and I grimaced at the reminder of being brothers.

"The poor kid, losing his father so young. It's bad enough to be insane _and_ losing your mother, now he's lost his father too. Well, at least he's not an orphan, and he's officially adopted. It's lucky he's got a new dad that's loves him."

"I seriously like all the kids here, but Tweek catches my eye in particular. He's special." I remember Mr Tucker's… sorry, _Dad's_ earlier words.

"_Why do _I _get such special treatment?"_

"_Because you _are _special. It's called _special _treatment, after all."_

"Didn't you say you had to do that report?"

"Oh yeah! Sorry for disturbing your work." The two ladies _finally _stop talking and get back to working. I relax and look to Craig. Like outside my cell, he's deep in thought. I shake him. Not to be a dick, but I seriously wanna get out of here. The fear of being caught is taking effect.

"W-What?"

"We were _escaping_…?"

"Oh, right. Okay, the main doors about 10ft away from where we're lying right now."

"Should me make a run for it?" Craig nodded his head in thought, then shook his head suddenly.

"No. I was actually considering it for a second, but no. Even if we did it really fast and silently, the staff would definitely see us, and some might even run after us. Then they'd _definitely_ call security, then we're _done for_. They'd find us in less than a minute, especially since it's snowing."

"…Since when does it snow in August?"

"It does in the mountains. Look, we need to think here…"

"…"

"…"

"…What if we distract the staff somehow?"

"That's a good idea, but how?" I look over across the lobby. I see through a sort of window a separate room where lots of men are staring at computers. I look towards the ceiling. I spot a black device, that's thankfully not pointing to us. We were lucky there wasn't one in the hall.

"That's a security camera right?" I point to the ceiling; Craig's looks up and nods.

"There's one in the room where all our cells are, but it's not night vision. People can only see with it when the lights are turned on in the room."

"So you think if we get the lights turned on in the cell room, all the staff will pay attention to that?"

"Yeah."

"How do we get the lights to turn on though?"

"I've seen it happen myself. There're vibration detectors attached to all the glass walls. I once saw some kid have a breakdown and try to break the glass. The detectors sensed the vibrations and the lights and sirens immediately switched on, so the security came running in. If we get the lights on and the siren to go off, the staff, camera watchers and security will be distracted, giving us a chance to run out without being seen."

"That's a good idea, but who'll be willing to do all that for us?"

"You know who." Craig stares at me for a second, then smiles.

"Cartman."

"Yep. You have his number, right?"

"Yeah." Craig takes out his cell and speed dials him. He gives me the phone. I put it to my ear while Craig keeps watch for people.

_Ring_

_Ring_

_Ring_

"…_Do you have any idea what _time _it is, Tucker?"_

"Cartman, it's me."

_"__…__Did you steal Craig's phone?"_

"No, he gave it to me. Look-

"_Are you calling me for fun or something? Go back to sleep."_ My God. He hasn't even noticed I'm gone yet. Idiot.

"Cartman, look to your right." I hear some sheets rustle as he turns over to look in my cell.

"_OH MY GOD! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?"_

"I'm in the lobby of the hospital, below you, on the floor, hiding with Craig. We're escaping. Well, I'm escaping. He's helping me."

"…_SO YOU DIDN'T EVEN_ THINK _FOR A SECOND THAT I MIGHT WANNA COME WITH?"_

"Actually, I didn't. You're out of here in a few weeks anyway. Look, we really need your help, if we're gonna get out of here." I hear Cartman sigh. He sounds annoyed. _Really_ annoyed.

"_What is it?"_

"You may get in trouble."

"_Whatever. Just tell me what."_

"We need the lights in the cell room to go on and for the sirens to go off, so that it distracts the staff and security. You're the only one that can set them off."

"…_How do I do it?"_

"There're vibration detectors attached the all the glass walls in the room. You need set them off, then the lights and siren will go on."

"_And how do I do _that?"

"Tweek, hurry! They're starting to _hear _you!" Craig hisses.

"You have to bang on the walls. Just grab something and try to break the door to your cell, so it looks like you're trying to escape. The security will come running. I have to go. Please, _please _do it." I quickly hang up the phone.

I was too loud. I can hear the same lady as before walking to the front of the desk. She's about to look down, but the sound of the siren stops her. God, it's loud. It's echoing through speakers all over the hospital. Must've scared the absolute _crap _out of doctors that're staying the night. I look across the lobby to see all the camera watcher guys gathering around one screen, probably watching Cartman try to smash a door. I almost laugh at the thought. All the ladies at the front desk run over to the room to see what set the siren off.

"Look, the security's got him!" Some guy from the camera room yells.

"That's our cue!" Craig says, grabbing my hand and pulling me up. We start running. As we're running, I look at a desk on the other side of the room, near the camera watchers.

There's a cup of coffee on it.

"Craig, can I quickly grab that coffee?"

"WHAT? NO! COME ON, WE'RE ALMOST AT THE DOOR!" Before I even listen to Craig's full answer, I start running across the room to get the coffee, almost in a trance. What can I say? Coffee's important to me.

"NO, TWEEK! YOU'RE GONNA GET IN THE CAMERA RANGE!" I turn to him, slightly confused, still running. He's running after me, trying to grab my arm to halt me. I turn back forward to see some guy pointing at his screen and yelling, getting the attention of the rest of the people in the room. All of the staff look towards the lobby and see me, as well as Craig. Craig stops runnning and looks up at the camera on the ceiling, the one I'd pointed to earlier. He lifts his arm up and flips it off. Nice.

One of the staff must've called the security pretty quick, because three huge men in security uniforms come from the elevator and push me to the floor. One stands over my body and handcuffs me behind my back. I can see Craig being restrained by one of them, a pissed off look on his face. I can also see the kind lady from the front desk, the one that said I'm special, staring in shock, as well as all the other women. The security guy who handcuffed me pulls me to my feet, and starts dragging me away by the collar. I see Craig once again, being held by the shoulders and questioned by the third security guy.

"CRAIG!" He and the security guy immediately look up.

"DON'T FEEL GUILTY! IT WAS MY FAULT WE FAILED! I'M REALLY SORRY!" Craig's looks directly in my eyes. I feel a sudden moment of connection between us, and I'm sure he feels it too. It's like time just freezes. But sadly, the moment of connection is too brief. The two other security guys roughly pull me away and into the elevator. I see one of them yelling into a walkie-talkie, while the other one still has a hold of my collar. We quickly arrive at the floor where the cells are, though I know after what I just attempted, they're _not_ gonna take me back to my cell.

As I thought, they start taking me the _opposite_ way of my cell. As we turn a corner into another hall, we run into the rest of the security, who have Cartman handcuffed as well. Cartman sees me and tries to muster his best glare. He's mad at me for failing at the escape; after all he did for me.

Oh crap.

I know the direction we're going. Cartman sees my freaked out face and gives me a questionable look. I mouth 'padded cells.'

'What?' He mouths back.

'Padded cells.'

'What?'

"PADDED CELLS, YOU RETARD!" The security guy that's got my collar whacks me on the back of the head for yelling so loud this time of night… or morning. I think it's almost one in the morning, so yeah, morning. Cartman now looks freaked out, since he knows where we're going.

As I thought, we arrive at the same door I was thrown in a few days ago. They throw me inside and, just as they're closing the door, I see them chuck Cartman in the cell across the hall.

That poor bastard. I actually feel _sorry_ for him.


	6. Chapter 6 Revised

Cartman and I … were definitely not in there for only five hours, like I was before. More like a fucking month. Well, it wasn't a month, it was a week, but it sure as hell _felt_ that way. I don't know how Cartman was doing in his little freaking padded cell, but for me it was absolute hell. Those goddamn white squares kept reminding me where I was, so I couldn't even try to forget what happened. After an estimate of about three days, I heard footsteps outside. My hopes immediately went up. I was really hoping it was someone that had come to get me out.

Sure enough, just as he was beginning to open the door, Craig was stopped by a nurse. I heard them start arguing. They argued for quite a while. Their words were muffled, so I couldn't understand them, but I knew they were definitely arguing about me. I'm pretty sure I heard my name mentioned like a million times. They eventually left, making my hopeful mood immediately disappear, and replaced with a depressed one.

The floor of my cell was padded too, so at least it was soft and comfortable. What a nice feature. The next day, I heard Cartman yelling at some nurse that was giving him breakfast. He said something like to let me and him out. The nurse must've notified the doctors… or whoever's in charge of this hell hole, because when I was finally let out after the seven days were up. When I walked out, Cartman was still inside his cell, yelling at me to let _him_ out too. I decided to be a good friend, and asked the nurse if she could let him out, but she said the only reason _I_ was let out was because apparently Craig was _still _being questioned about the escape by the police, after an entire week, and he said he would only talk if I was there with him. The nurse also said that he'd spent the last seven nights at the hospital, and that his father hadn't even had a chance to talk to him yet.

So now I'm walking into a room, where there's a cop sitting at a desk and Craig sitting on a couch, trying to be as far away from him as possible, looking really, really annoyed. He sees me after a few seconds and looks slightly relieved, but still not happy. Better than nothing.

"So this is Tweek?" The cop stares at me like I'm an alien, grimacing. I don't give a shit, I'm used to it, but, judging by his face, Craig thinks otherwise. I swear he's so close to slapping the cop that I almost grab his shoulders to stop him. Craig actually does almost do it. He stands up and takes a step towards the cop, but then he hesitates and steps down. I have no idea why he just hesitated. He probably just didn't want to be in even more trouble.

The nurse nods at the cop, confirming I'm indeed _the_ Tweek Tweak. The cops should definitely all know about me by now, after my attempted suicide and that letter that the nice lady sent, saying I had a knife. Maybe that's why the cop's so uncomfortable with me.

"Ok, Craig. He's here. Now tell me how you almost escaped with Tweek. You haven't even told me how you _got_ here." Craig totally ignores the cop and flips him off, while using his other hand to gesture for me to sit down next to him. I awkwardly sit down, pretty much afraid that the cop's gonna be pissed at me now. Sure as hell looks like it.

"… Just tell me Craig." Craig looks at me, unsure if he should or not.

"Do you think it's alright to tell him?"

"… Might as well. They'll find out somehow anyway, so we might as well tell them now." Craig nods dejectedly and looks at the cop. I look at the corner, wanting to leave the room so badly.

"Fine, I'll answer any of your goddamn questions. But I have one condition though."

"And what is that?"

"… Tweek, is _not_ gonna be punished at all." I stiffen, take my eyes from the corner, and look at Craig like _he's_ insane too.

"No. He's broken a ridiculous number of rules, and can't go unpunished for something as serious as an escape attempt."

"… Keep in mind, he'd just attempted suicide earlier that day and was seriously depressed and shocked from the experience. And also, it was _my_ idea in the first place, and he was totally reluctant to do it."

"… I'll have to ask the staff here. It isn't my decision how much he's punished."

"You have to promise me. I don't care if you don't have the authority. You have to."

"… Craig, I'll do everything I can-

"Bull. You have to promise. I don't care what you say, you have to." I know Craig's only causing more trouble for himself, and I'm really worried that he's arguing with a freaking _cop_. That's just someone you don't argue with. I don't want me to be the reason he's _arrested_ or something. I put my hand on his shoulder and smile reassuringly.

"It's fine, Craig. I'll take whatever punishment. It's my fault for going along with the escape anyway. Stop trying to get me out of it."

"No. This is absolute _bullshit,_ Tweek. Look you fucking cop, we heard everything these two front desk ladies said. One of them said they were filing a report to you guys; claiming Tweek had a knife when he attempted suicide, and was gonna try and harm the other patients with it. That's absolute crap. He used round tipped scissors. I know that, Tweek knows that, the patients know that, the nurses know that, hell, even you must know that! So stop trying to sue Tweek for absolute bullshit!"

"…You know about that?"

"Yeah, we _both_ know about it!"

"Look, don't tell anyone about it, alright? Most of the doctors don't know, including your father."

"You bet your ass I'll tell them. I'll tell all the patients too. I doubt you'd want a riot on your hands, making more injuries, money troubles, and work for you." Wow. I didn't know Craig's the blackmailing type.

"…You're bluffing."

**"Try me."** Craig says in a voice that's similar to mine when I asked Cartman for the round tipped scissors. Really dark.

"…" The cop glares as he slyly reaches for the phone on the desk and dials a number, keeping his eyes on the two of us.

"…Yeah, it's me. Look, Craig, you know the kid I'm questioning? Yeah, well, while he was escaping with that Tweek kid, they heard one of the staff mentioning the report to sue Tweek. They know about the accusing of Tweek having a knife. All about it. Craig's threatening to tell the doctors _and_ the patients, unless we don't punish Tweek at all for the almost-escape."

"…"

"Alright. Craig wants me to promise him."

"…"

"Ok then, thank you. I'll make sure to ask him all the questions. Bye." The cop sighs and hangs up the phone.

"Alright, Craig Tucker. They've said they'll not punish Tweek at all for what he did. I promise you."

"… Fine. I'll tell you everything you want to know, but I swear to God, if Tweek, who'll tell me if anything happens, is punished in any way, I'll make sure my dad knows about all of this."

"… Alright. Ok, tell me how you got out of school."

"… At recess, my dad called me on my cell and told me Tweek'd attempted suicide…"

"How did he know it was recess for you?"

"He's a psychologist. I think he's smart enough to know when his son's at recess. Anyway, my dad told me Tweek'd attempted suicide. I was really worried, 'cause Tweek's my friend, so I asked if I could come see him, but my dad said no. I wasn't gonna take that, so I decided I was gonna come here on my own." I feel slightly happy that Craig cares enough to come all this way by himself. Not to mention sneak out of school.

"How did you get out of school?"

"I knew my mom would come find me before I'd even make it out the town, so not to arouse suspicion from the teachers, I told my friends Clyde and Token to tell them I'd gone home 'cause I felt sick. I sneaked out and made sure no one saw me except my friends, who were watching me to make sure I got out alright. I ran to the edge of town and hitch-hiked." The policeman drops his pen, that he's using for writing details. I stiffen and look at Craig as well.

"ARE YOU CRAZY? DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW DANGEROUS THAT IS?" Craig shrugs, making me face palm in disbelief. That's so dangerous.

"It _worked_. Some guy stopped his truck and was willing to take me to the institution. He was probably a pedo that just wanted a boy sitting next to him, by the creepy look on his face, but I didn't give a crap. He was gonna take me, so why care?" The cop and I stare at Craig for being so risky. I hate to say it, but what an _idiot_.

"…What time was this?"

"About midday."

"So you arrived at about 5.00pm. Why didn't you sneak in then?"

"I wanted to wait until it was late, so that most of the staff would've left already. I think I waited for about six hours."

"Where did you hide?"

"In some bushes at the front of the hospital, near the main entrance door."

"For six hours? In the cold?"

"What can I say? I'm desperate to sneak in. At about 7.30pm, I got another call from my dad."

"Did he know you'd left the town yet?"

"No, my mom hadn't called him."

"How did _she_ not know you were gone?"

"I asked my friends to cover for me. I don't know what they said to her, but it sure as hell worked."

"What did your dad call about?" I flinch, because I already know the answer. I'm seriously sick of being reminded of it.

"… He gave me the news of Tweek and I officially being brothers by adoption."

"Right …" To cop notices our gloomy faces, but he decides not to question it. Thank God. I wouldn't have known what to say.

"So then what happened?"

"At about 10.30pm, I decided it was late enough to sneak in…"

"Did you have any sort of plan?" Craig almost laughs.

"_No_. Course not." He says pretty bluntly. I face palm again.

"…So what did you do?"

"I walked in, just like normal. I told the ladies that my dad had wanted me to come and speak with him, so they let me go to the elevator on my own, since they know me well enough to trust me. What a mistake that was."

"… So all this time … your father was here."

"Duh. I don't know exactly where he was though, at the time. Probably sleeping."

"What did you do after the elevator arrived?"

"I went and got the keys for all the cells."

"How?"

"They're kept on a hook in the staff room. I went and got 'em."

"…Weren't there doctors in there? On a late shift?"

"Luckily not. They were probably all in the bathroom or something." I blink at Craig. God, that was so lucky. I didn't realise how many risks he took just to get to my freaking cell.

"So you just sneaked in and grabbed them?"

"Yeah. It wasn't easy, but I did it."

"Wasn't there a security camera in there?"

"Yeah, I saw it in the corner."

"How did you avoid it?"

"I went to the fuse box, which was thankfully close by, and cut the power off the fourth floor for a few seconds. No one noticed, thankfully. Tweek didn't notice because it was pitch black in the cell room anyway." I nod in understanding. I didn't ever think for a second that the power went out, since it was so dark already.

"Didn't the people who were watching the security cameras on the fourth floor notice the power went out in the room they were watching?"

"I have no idea why they didn't notice. I guess they were all crappy workers so that they didn't even notice. It was only for about thirty seconds anyway." The cop glares, shaking his head mockingly.

"Alright then … how did you find your way in the dark?"

"I felt my way. I did it really quickly, so as soon as I got out, I switched the power back on."

"…Ok then. So then you went to the cell room and unlocked Tweek's cell, right?"

"Yeah."

"What happened next?"

"I'll, uh, need Tweek's help with this…" Craig looks at me. I sigh and nod. Great, now I'm gonna have to talk too. I _hate_ cops, so I really don't wanna do this.

"Alright. So how did the nurse outside not notice you two?"

"We were really quiet. Same with went I went in. She didn't even wake up at all."

"…She was _asleep_?"

"Yeah, she always is…" I say. The cop stares at me for a second, then looks at Craig.

"Remind me to get her fired later." Craig nods, looking slightly happy that at least one nurse is gonna be fired.

"Okay, what next?"

"We went to the elevator. I pushed Tweek out of the way of the door, so in case there was someone in there, they wouldn't see him."

"… They would've seen you though …"

"Yeah, but I could've said my dad had left and forgot me here or something." The cop stares at Craig with a 'are you kidding me' expression. I don't blame him. I had the same look when Craig told _me_.

"… Okay then. So you went in the elevator…"

"Yeah. When we got down to the bottom, I pulled Tweek down to the floor so that in case anyone heard the elevator, they wouldn't see us."

"… That was smart."

"Yeah … then we crawled in front of the main desk. It's a good thing we did, because one of the ladies saw the elevator close."

"Is that when you heard them talking about Tweek?"

"Yeah. They talked for about ten minutes. When they were done, I noticed the door was only about 10ft away. Tweek suggested we made a run for it, but I said no. I considered it for a second though."

"Why didn't you go for it?"

"Because, even if we were really fast and silent, I knew they would see us, and call the security, who would get us in less than a few minutes."

"So what _did_ you do?"

"… I had the idea to distract the staff." I say finally. The cop actually nods _admiringly_.

"That's very clever. How did you do it?"

"… I saw the separate room with all the guys looking at the security cameras and saw the one on the ceiling in the lobby, which wasn't in our range, thank God. I had the idea that if we cause some commotion in another room, then all the camera guys would be distracted, and that the ladies would also run over to see what was going on, plus the security would be distracted too."

"Where was the distraction?"

"In the cell room. There's a security camera in there, but it's not night vision. I needed the lights to go on, so that the guys could _see_ what was going on in the room."

"How did you get the lights on?"

"I knew there were vibration detectors on the glass walls of our cells, and that they sense it when someone bangs on the wall, and when that happens, the siren goes off and the lights go on."

"… How did you get someone to do that?"

"I knew Eric Cartman would be willing to do it for us. I used Craig's phone and asked him to do it. He hadn't even noticed I was gone yet. I had to hang up, because the ladies were hearing me. Just as a lady was about to see us, the siren went off, and all the camera guys were freaking out, making all the front desk ladies get curious and go over to see what was going on. The security were busy with Cartman. Craig heard one of the guys yell that they'd got Cartman, so he said that's our cue, since the security was distracted. We started running, and we would've made it, but I … sort of … saw some coffee." I smile nervously and see Craig glare at me, making my smile disappear and making me waver.

"I'm… sorta… addicted to it… so I started running over to get it … and got in the range of the security camera. One of the camera guys saw… and _viola_ … we were caught." The cop writes down the last details and nods.

"Thank you very much, you two. Craig, you're allowed to go home now. Your father will come get you any minute. Tweek, according to what the doctors said, you're to be handcuffed everywhere you go, so I'll do it." The cop stands up and makes a move to handcuff me.

"WAIT! YOU _PROMISED_ THAT TWEEK WOULDN'T BE PUNISHED FOR THIS AT ALL!" Craig stands up and pushes the cop away roughly, in defence of me.

"He won't be punished for this, but the handcuffing is still punishment for when he fought Eric Cartman last week. He won't receive any other form of punishment." Craig frowns at the cop, but steps aside nonetheless. The cop smiles and handcuffs me behind my back leisurely, like he does it everyday. Just as the cop finishes doing it, Mr Tucker ... 'Dad' ... walks in. He looks _really_ mad when he sees me, but when he looks at Craig, my God, I've never seen a glare that strong. Craig doesn't back down. He glares back just as much. Man, if I'd ever done that to my father… Jeez, I don't wanna think about my dad. He's dead after all…

"I'm so sorry for my sons' troubles." My eyes widen when he says sons' instead of son's.

"No worries. They explained in great detail, so now we can enhance security around here, so that it doesn't happen again."

"WHAT?" Craig and I both shriek. We'd done all that talking just so they could find the blind spots for security cameras and all that. I just betrayed all the patients that have been planning to escape for _years_. What a dick I am. What an _accidental_ dick I am.

"I'm sure it will help a lot."

"It will. Your boys are free to go. I can't thank you enough for all this information, you two." The cop smiles gratefully at us, which makes me briefly forget how mad 'Dad' is.

"Alright then. Come with me, _both_ of you." Uh oh. Lecture time. Mr Tucker… '_Dad_' takes us out of the room. When we're in the hallway, he immediately slaps us both up the back of the head.

"OW! WHAT THE HELL, DAD!" Craig shouts furiously, while I just rub the back of my head, staying silent. I really don't like Mr Tucker… **'Dad'**… when he's mad, so I don't want _more_ trouble. In the four years I've known him, I've only seen him mad about three times.

"What the hell were you two _thinking_? I just about crapped my pants when I heard the siren go off (hehe, I was right. He _was _scared by the siren), and then saw Tweek being dragged to a padded cell!" Craig turns to me, surprised.

"You've been in a padded cell for the past week? I thought you were only in there for a few _days_!" I nod nervously, not taking my eyes off of … Dad. Craig bites his lip and turns back to ... our dad.

"What the fuck! Why'd you let him stay in there that long?"

"At least he's out now! I didn't have the authority. I'm not the one in charge here, Craig! And I heard _you _went there after three days and tried to unlock it _yourself_." Craig shuts his mouth and looks away. Mr Tucker turns from him to me.

"And you! What am I gonna do with you, Tweek? You've been causing so much trouble recently! I'm working really hard to get you out of here, so behave!" I nod obediently, like some little kid that's just been caught stealing or something.

"Hey dad … they promised me that they wouldn't punish Tweek at all …"

"Yeah, I heard. I'll make sure they don't. _You're_ going home. Go on to the lobby, your mom's waiting for you. She's not in the best of moods right now, so you'd best be careful." You can tell a lot about a woman by the way her husband describes her. 'Dad' just described her, in my opinion, as a bitch. And that's my 'Mom'. _Yay_...

"_Mom's_ here?"

"Yep, she's waiting, so go." 'Dad' gently pushes Craig. Craig flips him off and walks towards the elevator, leaving me and 'Dad' alone.

"…Why did you do it, Tweek?" I'm instantly reminded of when 'Dad' said the exact same thing when he wanted to know why I'd attempted suicide.

"… It wasn't my idea, honestly. But I went along with it anyway. Craig just came to my cell so suddenly and said we needed to get out of here. I just agreed."

"… Why did he want to get you out of here so badly?"

"…"

"Well?"

"… Nei … Neither of us wanted to be brothers …" 'Dad's' face softens.

"… Oh … well, nothing can be done about it, Tweek. Your uncle was just not appropriate to take care of you, let alone his own kids."

"I liked him though. He was really nice to me when I was little."

"You'll be able to see him once a week, remember?" I nod miserably. Not about the fact that I won't see my uncle often, but the fact that I once again remembered my father's ... dead.

"…"

"…"

"What's wrong?" I ask, snapping out of my saddened state, curious to know why 'Dad' isn't saying anything, which he doesn't usually do.

"I'm just confused. I understand why _you_ don't want to be his brother… because you like him romantically, but I wonder… what's his reason?" I start to wonder too. We have about twenty seconds of silence, which is interrupted when 'Dad' gasps slightly, barely audibly, and covers his mouth in shock.

"What is it?" 'Dad' quickly recovers from whatever he just thought, still covering his mouth.

"It's alright… I was just thinking… could it be he… he l…"

"What?" 'Dad' hesitates, then smiles and shakes his head, obviously wanting me to forget what he said.

"It's nothing. I just thought of something crazy…"

"What…?"

"… I ... I thought … that Craig might like you … romantically for a second…" Before I can react properly, I hear a skid behind me. I turn around and see no one there. Weird.

"Yeah … like ... like **that **would ever happen …" I laugh bitterly, staring the ground in a trance. It must've been for a while, because 'Dad' has to shake me to stop me from doing it.

"Are you alright?" I look around confusingly for a second, briefly forgetting where I am, then forcefully plaster a happy smile on my face.

"I'm fine. Jest a little distracted." I try to make myself seem happy, since I don't want my new adoptive father to know about my dark side. The side ... that convinced me to try and kill myself.

"Okay. Now listen, your being given the ultimate freedom. I'm going to give you keys to your cell and you can walk in and out of it whenever you want between 9.00am and 9.00pm." My mouth drops open. I'm so surprised that I can't even speak. That's the most freedom I've ever had in my life. Being able to _walk_ wherever you want? That's insanely kind!

"You'll have to be handcuffed wherever you go, of course." Like I give a shit. I'll be able to walk around! Who cares if my hands are locked in metal circles?

"That's fine! Just gimme the keys!" I attempt to make a grab for the keys, but then I remember I'm handcuffed.

"I'm _trusting_ you to use these, Tweek. If you break any rules using these, then I'll confiscate them. You understand?" I nod quickly, just dying to get them.

"You're allowed to go anywhere except into other kid's cells."

"You mean I can go _outside_?"

"You can. But if you go any more than 30ft away from the perimeter of the hospital, the security will be alerted and you'll be taken in immediately, so be careful to stay close."

"How would you know if I went over my limit of space?"

"This." 'Dad' quickly grabs my shirt and clips something onto it. Once he lets go of me, I grab it and try to pull it off.

"It's no use, Tweek. You can't pull it off without entering the secret code." I look closely at the thing clipped onto me. It looks like a little mini-calculator, with buttons on to type in numbers, for the code, I guess.

"What is this thing?"

"It's a tracking device. Doctors like me are gonna take turns watching this thing on you. We'll alert security if you go over your limit of space." Damn it.

"Tweek, you have to promise me you'll use this thing appropriately. No rule breaking, alright? And if the other patients get jealous and want to know why you've got this freedom, tell them I insisted since you're my new son, okay?" I nod grimly, really not wanting to be reminded of my adoption _again_.

"I promise I'll use this properly."

"Good kid. I've gotta go have a session with one of the other boys, so I'll see you later for yours. I haven't had one with you in a while." 'Dad' hands me the keys, gives me a small wave and starts running to his office, to get some paper work, I guess. He's late. So he'd chosen to give me my keys and talk with me, over his own job. I'm not sure how to feel. The old me would've said 'Who gives a shit? I still hate him either way.' But these days, I just don't hate him that much. I wonder when that changed. Bradley's gonna hate me even more now, for trusting people from the outside so much.

I sigh, missing Craig already, and start to make my way to the cell room, ready to boast to Bradley (who's still being an ass) how I've got so much freedom now.

Even though I've been through absolute shit recently, I think my life's getting better every day, even if only by the tiniest fraction.


	7. Chapter 7 Revised

"Hey. Hey Cartman?"

"What? I'm trying to eat my breakfast, asshole!" Cartman says angrily, while trying hard to hold his spoon of cereal up with handcuffs on. I seriously can't believe he still hasn't gotten used to it. I mean, even _I_ have. And I'm not the type to get used to things easily.

"Can I see your phone?" I ask, eyeing his pocket, where the phone is. I wonder how he's managed to keep it hidden for so long. I even accidentally told the cop that he has a cell phone, so the nurses came and searched him and his cell, but couldn't find it. I don't wanna think about where he hid it. It's been two days since I was let out of that padded cell, and since that interrogation with the cop.

"Yeah, whatever." He struggles, but finally gets the phone out of his pocket and hands it to me from under the table, so that the nurse doesn't see. She's watching our table like a hawk, since both Cartman and I can cause a _lot _of trouble. Cartman and I have been watched very carefully since we were let out of those padded cells. Cartman was let out yesterday, so he was in there a day more than me. He's also got an extended _three_ weeks here now, which makes me feel really guilty, because it's all my fault. Cartman didn't seem that mad though, when he received the news of it, which relieves me a bit. Part of me thinks he's not that mad because he actually _likes_ it here. How weird is that? It's not _possible_to like it here. Only for Bradley. Only for _Bradley_…

I flip the cell phone open and look at the screen. I see a file named photos and open it. A big selection of pictures that Cartman had taken come up. I select one, revealing probably the whole class, except for Cartman.

"Who's who?" I show Cartman the picture. He sighs at the sight of the photo.

"Do I have to say _everyone_?"

"Uh huh. I really wanna know." I smile at him genuinely. I really _do_ wanna know. I've never met a girl my age, and I'm curious to know who Craig's friends are. Plus, I've never really met normal normal kids. Cartman wavers and looks at the picture.

"Okay… well, first there's Timmy," Cartman points to a kid in a wheelchair. "He's not crazy, but he's mentally retarded. He's cool though."

"The girls are Red, Annie, Emily, Heidi, Wendy, Bebe, and Milly. They're all bitches, especially Wendy. Bebe can sometimes be ok, but I still don't like her much." I don't really listen at what Cartman's saying. I just stare at Milly, wanting to kill her. I know she and Craig aren't an item anymore, but that doesn't stop me from hating her. Cartman points to a blond kid who's smiling really happily.

"That's Butters."

"Butters?"

"His real name's Leopold, but we nicknamed him Butters 'cause Leopold's a retarded name. He's a wimp, but I'd be friends with him any day over Token or Clyde, who're both assholes, and Craig's friends. Plus, Token's black, so I automatically _don't_ like him." Cartman points to a brown haired kid and a black kid. They look fairly normal to me. Cartman then point to another blond kid.

"That's Bradley Biggle."

"There's _another_ Bradley?"

"Yeah. My friends and I never hang out with him though, since he's boring. He hangs out with the Star Wars freak, Kevin." Cartman points to a black haired kid next to Bradley.

"There's another _Kevin_ too?" What the hell? I wonder if there's another _Tweek_ there. Jeez.

"There's the Jew. You know him. Next to him is Pip. He's French, and a loser. I'm not even gonna bother to talk about him." Pip looks pretty nice. I can't understand why Cartman doesn't like him.

"And there's Stan and Kenny. And Craig. You obviously know them. The crippled kid's Jimmy. He's funny. I like him a lot, but recently, he's been hanging out with Token and Clyde, so I don't like him as much now. That's all of them. They're not really that interesting."

Wow. I've never seen so many normal looking kids. They look so… happy. They all have no idea how free they are. Well, thankfully, I'm pretty free now too. I still haven't used those keys 'Dad' gave me, but I'm planning on using them today. In fact, I'll tell Cartman about them, just to see his face.

"Hey Cartman?"

"What now?" Cartman asks tiredly, shoving his cell back in his pocket.

"Look at these." I pull the keys out of my pocket and show them to him. He looks like he's about to scream. Shit.

"WHA-

"Shut up! Shut up!" I hiss. I would've covered his mouth, but that isn't exactly easy with handcuffs.

"Why the hell do you have _keys_?"

"My Dad gave them to me. They're keys to my cell, and he's letting me go out whenever I want from 9.00am to 9.00pm. He said he wanted me to have more freedom." Cartman raises an eyebrow.

"Isn't your dad all the way in South Park? With the coffee shop?"

"No … he's dead. I'm adopted."

"But you just said your dad gave them to you…" I freeze as I realise I just casually called Mr Tucker my Dad.

"…It's nothing… just my adoptive father…" I say, feeling shocked. I'll never want to accept the fact that I'm Craig's brother, but Mr Tucker… he might not be that bad a Dad. He's nice, he cares about me (I know now that what Bradley said about doctors pretending to like you is absolute bull by now), and he's willing to get me out of here. _And_ I'm able to see Craig a lot now.

Maybe… maybe I can accept him as my new father…

* * *

><p>"Tweek." I ignore Bradley, lying on the bed with my back to him. I would go out, using my new keys, but I'm tired, and not in the mood. I'm in a really <em>crap<em> mood, so if I go out now, chances are that I'll do something dumb, in anger, and cause nothing but goddamn _trouble_.

"Tweek…" Bradley says threateningly.

"…What?" I ask bluntly, my back still turned to him. Part of me is happy he's finally talking to me, but the other part wants to beat the absolute shit out of him for being such an ass lately.

"Why isn't Craig visiting today?"

"… He needs to stay home today. His mom thinks he's been coming here too much lately, and she wants him to hang out with his other friends. He's coming tomorrow."

"Why weren't you at 'school' today? You stayed in your cell."

"I don't have to come anymore. Mr Tucker just gives me some homework twice a week now."

"_Why_?"

"I'm getting more privileges."

"And why's that?"

"…'Cause I'm Mr Tucker's adopted son now. I get special treatment. I even have keys to my cell."

"WHAT?"

"It's true. Look." I take the keys out of my pocket and hold them up, so he can clearly see them. Not only can Bradley see them, but all the patients can. I can literally feel the envy and jealously hitting me.

"Then why the hell are you in here?"

"Because I'm tired and don't feel like going out."

"Good for you. The outside's bad anyway."

"It's not as bad as you think, Bradley. There are a lot of amazing things out there…" I say, thinking about the picture of Cartman, Stan, Kenny, Craig, and Kyle's class.

"…Tweek, you're being deceived. Those outsiders don't care about you, they're just gaining your trust to-

I snap.

"YOU SHUT UP! You don't know anything about them! You've never even really _been_ outside, and yet you judge everything about it, and the people in it! Have you forgotten _you're_originally from the outside?"

"I'M NOT FROM THAT HELLHOLE!"

"SO YOU'D RATHER STAY IN THIS NIGHTMARE THAN GO OUTSIDE?"

"NO! I'D RATHER DIE THAN LIVE IN EITHER! WHY ELSE DO YOU THINK I'M SUICIDAL!"

"YOU ONLY HATE THE OUTSIDE IS BECAUSE YOU THINK EVERYONE OUT THERE'S BAD!"

"THEY _ARE_ BAD!"

"THE ONLY FUCKING REASON YOU THNK EVERYONE'S BAD IS BECAUSE SOME GUY MURDERED YOUR PARENTS IN FRONT OF YOU!"

I gasp and cover my mouth, immediately regretting what I just said. Bradley's past… is something you just don't talk about here, just like blaming another patient for your insanity. You just don't do it. When he was six… some killer broke into his house, and killed his parents in front of him, very brutally. Bradley's mind, according to doctors' perspective, was damaged by the sight permanently. They never thought it would drive him to think that everyone's a murderer though. He started getting suicidal, so they immediately put him in here. He lost trust of the outside, and believed every patient here was a good person, and started teaching kids how 'bad' the outside was. I was one of them, but I was lucky enough to learn what he said was absolute bullshit. The other kids are still convinced that the outside's evil, and have given up on getting out of here. That's one of the sad things about this institute.

"…I hate you, Tweek Tweak. You've betrayed us all. You're one of them. We _all_ hate you." I look around. The majority of kids are looking at me that way, the same way that nurses and strangers look at me, which makes my confidence in arguing with Bradley disappear. My anxiety is starting to kick in. Crap, I might have a breakdown.

"Bra… Bradley… that's a little harsh. It's not his fault he likes people from the outside… and that they like him." Thomas says quietly, in my defence.

"You be quiet, Thomas, if you know what's _good _for you." Bradley snaps at him. Thomas glares and takes a step back from Bradley. I can see Cartman and Kevin glaring at Bradley too. There's a _lot_ of tension in the air right now.

"Hey fatass! What's up?" All of us turn to the main door, to see Cartman's friends and another new kid walking in. I think his name was Butters? Yeah, Butters.

"Nothing, Stan!" Cartman sighs and sits down. All the other kids stare at the visitors. Even though most of them don't trust and hate people from the outside, they can't help but be interested. _Especially _the little kids.

"Why're you dicks here?"

"Well, it's our day off, so we figured we'd come visit. And Butters wanted to meet Tweek. Here he is Butters, the one and only." Kenny grabs Butters and leads him to the front of my cell. Butters looks exactly the same as in the photo.

"Well, hey Tweek! I've really wanted to meet you, since Craig never stops talking about you."

"…H-He d-d-doesn't?" Oh God. My stuttering's returned. I think it's because of what Bradley said about all of them _hating _me. Way to make my life crap, just when it's getting better.

"No, he really likes you! I understand why! You seem really cool, judging by the look of you!"

"Really?" I look myself up and down. I don't seem to look anything special.

"Yeah! Wow, this hospital sure is big."

"… I guess. I never really have a chance to walk around." This kid… is too cheerful.

"Until now." Bradley says, not looking up from his book. Butters stares at Bradley.

"Who's that?"

"That's Bradley. Go say hi, you might actually make him nicer." I was being sarcastic, but Butters is going over to Bradley's cell already. How naïve.

"Hey Bradley! Wow, your room's really clean." Bradley looks up and glares.

"Get away from me, you…" Bradley trails off when he sees Butters.

"What was that?" Butters smiles innocently. Jeez, I've never seen someone so happy.

"…Nothing. J-Just leave me alone…" My God. I never thought something like that could happen. Butters blinks confusingly and moves to stand next to Kenny.

Son of a bitch. Judging by the heavy blush on his face, Bradley's got an instant crush on Butters.

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

* * *

><p>"Ok, Tweek. We're done for today." I sigh in relief at the news of 'Dad' and I's session finally being over. It's too much effort to talk for an hour. Especially since I'm still freaked out from the result of me snapping at Bradley yesterday. I like him better these days, but I know I'll never like these sessions, even though 'Dad' has the right to know my private thoughts, now that he's adopted me.<p>

"C-Craig's h-h-here today, r-right?" 'Dad' looks at me sympathetically because my stuttering's returned.

"Yeah, he just arrived a few minutes ago, I think. You do know the date today, right?"

"…I-It's August 18th, r-right?" 'Dad' nods, and looks at me in a weird way.

"Yeah… it is."

"…"

"…"

"…Can I ask you something?"

"What is it?"

"… Am I meant to … call you 'Dad' and your wife 'Mom'?" Mr Tucker stiffens.

"… I _would _actually prefer if you called me 'Dad', to be honest."

"Why are you so determined to make me your son?"

"Because you _are_ like a son to me, Tweek."

"… Alright. I guess I'll call you that then…" The door opens, making us both turn. Craig walks in casually, looking slightly tired.

"Hey Tweek."

"H-H-Hey." Craig stops walking in mid step. He stands staring at me for a few seconds, like he'd just seen a ghost, then turns to Dad.

"Why… WHY THE HELL'S HE STUTTERING?" Craig asks frantically.

"One of the boys said something very hurtful to him, so his anxiety kicked in and made him start stuttering again." Craig walks over and holds his hand out hesitantly, then pats my shoulder. I'm a little disappointed that it was a pat on the shoulder and not a make out session. Tch, yeah right, in my dreams.

"Hey, hey, you still haven't gone outside yet, right? Let's go!" Craig grabs my hand and pulls me out of the room. He pulls me all the way to the elevator. Many nurses stop and stare as we pass by. It feels weird to be outside without a nurse and without being stopped by staff. And that I have no handcuffs. Craig pushes the button to go on the elevator. It opens immediately, which is pretty awesome. Craig shoves me in and presses the ground floor button. When the doors close, he turns to me, grabs my shoulders, and looks at me seriously. Nice.

"Who said what to you?"

"W-Why does i-it m-m-matter so m-much Craig?" Craig slumps his shoulders and looks down, seeming confused, as is he doesn't know the answer himself.

"…Just tell me, Tweek."

"… It was Bradley. You know him right?"

"Vaguely. What did he say?"

"… He … H-He was u-u-upset that I-I'm getting s-so close to y-you a-and … Dad…"

"What did he _say_, Tweek?" Craig asks, wanting to know really badly.

"N-Nothing really… h-he just said h-he hates m-m-me. And s-so do all t-t-the other k-kids…" Craig stiffens and stares at the wall, in an angry-looking daze.

"A-Are you a-alright, Craig?" He doesn't answer. He keeps glaring at the wall. I grab his shoulder and shake him. He still doesn't respond. Man, is he alright?

"C-Craig!" Still nothing.

"CRAIG!" I yell angrily, shaking him as hard as I can. He stays still. Is he ignoring me? No, it's not that. There's something wrong with him…

"I'm sorry it had to come to this…" I say quietly, raising my hand. I slap Craig as hard as I can on the face. So hard that he falls on the floor of the elevator. He snapped out of his trance, at least.

"WHAT? WHAT HAPPENED? What…?" Craig looks around hysterically, then up to me.

"…Did you just hit me, Tweek?" I nod nervously, afraid that he's gonna get mad at me. He does seem a little annoyed, but not _mad_.

The elevator finally arrives at the ground floor. Craig steps out silently, and starts walking towards the main door to the hospital, leaving me behind. I quickly regain my senses and run after him, trying to catch up. I give the two kind ladies a wave as I pass by the front desk, who wave back, smiling. I smirk because I realise Dad forgot to handcuff me. I'm glad no one's noticed. I stop when we get to the door, suddenly nervous to go out. I haven't been outdoors in a year. I don't want to be excited, then walk out and be disappointed. I can see the snow. I've totally forgotten what it feels like. Craig steps away from the door, next to me.

"What's wrong?" He asks in his monotone voice. I shake nervously, much more than usual.

"N-Nothing… I j-just haven't b-been out in a w-while…" I take a deep breath and try to calm down, trying to convince myself to go out.

"Ok, l-let's go!"

"Are you sure?"

"L-Let's just d-d-do it!" I grab Craig's arm and pull him with me out the door. The coldness hits me like a brick. I don't remember it being this cold _last_ year. Craig laughs at my reaction to the temperature, which makes me sort of glad, now that's he's in a happier mood. I walk around in the snow for a few seconds, feeling like running around like a little kid. Of course, I won't. Not in front of Craig, at least. I take a few steps backwards and stare the hospital.

Wow. I didn't know it was _that_ big. Now I understand what Butters meant earlier.

"You like it out here, Tweek?" Craig asks, smiling at how happy I am to be outside.

"Y-Yeah. It's m-much better th-than in _there_."

"But it's freezing."

"S-So? It's snowy, s-so who _cares_?" I fling snow around childishly, smiling.

"Hey, wanna see the cell room from the outside?" I nod. Craig starts walking to the side of the hospital. I follow him, being careful not to stray too far from the edge of the building, or else the security will come and confiscate my keys, as well as punish me for purposely going out without handcuffs on. I glare at the device clipped onto my shirt. If only it isn't here. As we're walking, I notice how tired Craig looks.

"Y-You look t-t-tired, Craig…" Craig turns his head to me and smiles weakly.

"I… I haven't been getting much sleep lately, that's all."

"W-Why not?"

"…I just can't fall asleep. I'm distracted by… stuff…" Craig looks at the ground. His cheeks are red from the cold. I _think_ it's from the cold.

"By what?" I say, too curious to even stutter. Craig waves his hand around.

"It's nothing, really. I just think too much, that's all."

"W-Well, you n-n-need to sleep…"

"… I'm thinking about asking my… _our_ dad to get me sleeping pills." I slowly nod, cringing at the thought of swallowing pills just to get to sleep. I'd much rather take a shot, any day. Craig suddenly stops walking, making me stop too.

"There it is." Craig points up. I look above me.

"I-Is that it? O-On the f-f-fourth floor?"

"Yeah. Watch this." Craig grabs and handful of snow and quickly moulds it into a ball. I shriek in shock as he throws it towards the outside of the cell room, as hard as he can. It makes a huge thump against the … whatever the hospital's made of. I barely hear a scream inside, probably by some kid that got a scare from the thump of the snowball.

"A-ARE YOU CRAZY, C-C-CRAIG?" I scream.

"Hey, they said they hated you, so payback's a bitch." He throws another snowball, resulting in another scream, making Craig laugh evilly. I stare. Not that I don't find this funny. It's hilarious, but I'm too distracted by the fear of being caught by staff. Someone _must've_ come in to check on the screaming kids, that would've definitely told them about the thump from outside. Craig throws two more snowballs, laughing. Crap, security will come any second.

"Craig, w-we need t-t-to get o-out of here. T-The security w-will come l-l-looking for u-us!" I look around frantically for a hiding place. I see a hedge right next to the building. I immediately grab Craig and shove him into it. He opens his mouth to protest, but I put my finger to my lips and run about 10ft away from the bush. Just as I stop running, the security come sprinting around the corner.

"There he is!" One yells, pointing at me. I quickly put my hands behind my back, so they think I'm handcuffed. One of the security grabs me, thinking I'm gonna try and run away.

"What are you doing here?" He asks demandingly. Dumbass.

"I-I'm allowed. R-Remember?" I ask in a mocking voice that's scarily similar to Craig's, apart from the stuttering.

"… Were you the one throwing stuff at the cell room?"

"O-Obviously _not_. I'm c-cuffed." I shrug my shoulders, showing that I 'couldn't' move my arms.

"…He didn't do it guys. Um, Tweek, did you see anyone other than you out here?"

"N-No. I … j-j-just heard thumping a-and came h-here." The guy nods.

"Okay. Come on guys, let's go." The security all sigh at not catching someone and walk away quickly, wanting to get away from the cold. I unhook my hands from behind my back and run over to the bush/hedge where Craig is. Man, he looks pissed.

"I-I'm sorry, C-Craig. They w-would've caught y-you." Craig glares and stays sitting there, leaning against the building. I sigh and sit next to him, not sure what to say.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Here." Craig tosses something on my lap, looking straight ahead. I hold it in my hands and look at it closely. It's a brand new cell phone.

"You… You're g-giving m-me a cell phone?"

"Yeah. It's yours."

"W-Why are y-you giving m-m-me one?"

"It's a gift."

"W-What's the o-occasion?"

"…I can't believe you seriously forgot your own birthday." I freeze. Craig's right. It's my birthday today. August 18th…

So that's why dad was staring at me like I was an idiot earlier.

"… I a-actually forgot my o-own b-b-birthday…" I face palm, feeling so stupid. Craig smiles. A very small smile, but a smile.

"I guess that happens… when you're in a mental institution." I look down.

I've forgotten how crazy this all is. I'm some crazy kid in a nut house that's in love with their psychologist's son, then the psychologist adopts me, then I attempt an escape with the son, and then the two of us are sitting together in a bush. Yeah…

"… I guess so …"

"You didn't stutter." Craig states, looking surprised. I shrug.

"I guess you just magically do that to me." I just took a risk and hinted that he means a lot to me.

"… You mean I did it?"

"Probably. Ha, all you have to do now is get rid of my anxiety, shaking, and addiction to coffee." I meant it in a joking way, but I think Craig's taking it seriously.

"I'll try."

"…" I wonder if Craig really _can_ get rid of my problems. What if-

"HEY! WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING HERE?" We look up to see Kenny leaning over us, smirking. Craig gives him a strong glare.

"What are _you_ doing here, McCormick?" He asks dully, looking annoyed. I don't blame him, I'm annoyed too.

"Well, Kyle and Stan are busy, Butters and I are bored, and we heard its Tweek's birthday, so we came here for today. Butters is in the bathroom. Cartman told me you were with Tweek, so I figured you'd probably be outside, since the fatass told me Tweek has more freedom now. Here you go, Tweek. I thought these'd be useful for you." Kenny tosses something at me.

… Fluffy handcuffs.

Craig and I stare at them.

"W-What the hell, Kenny?"

"Hey, calm down Craig. I just thought he'd want cuffs that aren't made of nothing but metal. These ones are soft and gentle." Kenny says, trying not to laugh. Craig gives him the finger. I blush at the handcuffs.

"Aren't these a kind of s… sex toy or something?" I struggle to say the word 'sex'. It feels like such a forbidden word for someone like me.

"Yeah, but they can be used for other purposes." Kenny laughs at my huge blush. Craig gives him a look. Kenny receives the silent signal and walks away, still laughing.

"Look Tweek, he's not that bad a guy. He's just an idiot."

"What makes you think that?" I ask, wondering whether I should actually _keep_ the handcuffs or not.

"…He's the poorest kid in town…" I stare at the handcuffs, thinking about how expensive they must've been for him.

"…That was really nice of him." Craig stares at my guilty face. He gets up and brushes himself off.

"Well, you might as well make a use of them." Craig picks up the handcuffs and pulls me up. He handcuffs me awkwardly. Wow, they're really soft.

"…Thanks."

"Come on. You must be really cold. You don't have a jacket." I didn't even notice I felt cold, but yeah, it's true. Not that I care. I'll live in a freezer if it means spending time with Craig.

* * *

><p>"There you two are! I was looking everywhere. Craig, you need to get home, or your mother will go nuts. And you Tweek, you need to get back to your cell. It's almost dinner. You need to eat. Say goodbye, both of you."<p>

"I'll come back in a few days. My mom thinks I need to stay home more."

"That's fine. I need to catch up with my friends here anywa…" I trial off as Craig hugs me. It's not a sly, quick, hug like when I first met him. It's a meaningful, loving hug, like we're family. Well, we are sort of. I would hug him back, in fact I'd like nothing better … but I'm handcuffed. I feel like crying 'cause of it. Though, I do feel relaxed.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Craig springs away from me, blushing slightly. We turn to see Kenny walking towards us, pointing and laughing, with Butters in tow.

"AWWWWW! THAT'S SO CUTE!" Kenny laughs so hard that his stomach starts hurting. Butters helps the still giggly Kenny over to us, looking sheepish.

"Sorry. Kenny's in a giggly mood today." Butters smiles at me.

"Happy birthday, Tweek. Here. I'm sorry I couldn't get you a present, but I was grounded so I didn't have time to buy one." I nod reassuringly, accepting the card he hands to me.

"Thanks Butters." Dad taps his watch urgently. Craig sighs.

"Gotta go. Kenny, Butters, my dad'll give you guys a ride." Butters and Kenny nod and start following Dad outside. Craig takes a step after them, then changes his mind and turns to me.

"Tweek … I …"

"What is it?" Whoa… he looks nervous.

"… Nothing. It's nothing." He smiles weakly and runs away, trying to catch up with the others. I stare after him, confused. What's wrong with him? I hear footsteps behind me. I spin around and see a nurse approaching.

"Tweek, you have to go back to your room now." The nurse says, frowning at my fluffy handcuffs.

"Alright." I nod obediently and start walking to the elevator. The nurse stares at me, looking really shocked. I wonder why. As I enter the elevator and press the second floor button, I notice something different about me. I feel _really_ relaxed. I think it's 'cause … 'cause …

Oh my God. For the first time in four years, I've stopped shaking. Craig just cured my shaking.


	8. Chapter 8 Revised

A month has passed. I've finally gotten really used to the handcuffs that Kenny gave me, and I'm actually really thankful for them, believe it or not. Cartman's friends, including Butters, visit pretty often, especially Kenny and Butters. I like them both a lot, even though they're two completely different guys. Cartman's only got a week left here now. He seems to be excited about it, to finally go back to the outside, but he said once that he'll miss me, which means he sorta wants to stay. Bradley and I have been ignoring each other ever since I accidentally mentioned his parents. I feel really guilty for doing it, and I want to apologise, but my pride's saying to me 'Why should you apologise? He was the one being a dick to you.', so I haven't. At least I _want_ to apologise. Bradley's not even trying. If I had a penny for every time he gives me a mean look, I'd be a billionare.

Craig… is pretty different. He still hasn't been sleeping properly, which really worries me. What can possibly be so distracting for him, that it deprives him of even _sleeping_? He still tries to act the same to me though, which is pretty kind of him. I say try, because I've noticed, ever since our escape attempt, he's been acting really awkward around me, and much more emotional. He has no idea how much it scares me, to see him so … I can't describe how he looks. It's not happy though, I can tell that much.

Recently, for about the past week, I've been going to 'school' with everyone, even though I don't have to, now that I'm the son of a psychologist. Dad saw me walking out of the class and confronted me about it.

"Why are you attending school? You don't have to. I thought you hated it."

"… Because I want to learn." I said genuinely, and walked away, not waiting for my new Dad's reply.

It's actually true. I want to learn. I see Bradley so committed to his school work, and he gets rewarded for it. He gets praise, and he's regarded as smart, and overall, he gets a good education. I thought, 'I wanna be like that too.' So I've been going to class and actually trying with my work. It's paid off so far, I feel so much smarter, and the staff look at me with more admiration now. Not that I haven't been taking advantage of my keys though. I go outside for at least an hour every day, just to enjoy the snow. Some of the kinder nurses saw how well behaved I'm being, so they started asking me to do small favours/errands around the hospital for them. I still do them, quite a lot.

Right now though, I'm watching Bradley writing something on a piece of paper. He's sure taking his time with it. Bradley catches me staring, and moves his arm over the paper, as if I'm actually gonna try and read it from like 15ft away. I know they say curiosity killed the cat, but seriously…

"What are you writing…?" I ask, trying to sound nice, even though Bradley's probably the last person on earth I wanna be nice to. Seriously.

"… A … A letter."

"To whom?"

"That's none of your business, Tweek." I slump, knowing I'll never find out what it says. Unless…

I get some paper out from my drawer, grab a pen, and start scribbling a note on it.

_Thomas, while Bradley's not looking, reach through the whole in your wall and grab the letter he's writing. I'll use my keys to come outside and get it from you. Sorry to trouble you, but the curiosity's killing me._

_Tweek._

I scrunch up the note into a ball.

"Hey Bradley." Bradley looks up irritably, disturbed from writing his _precious _letter.

"Note to Thomas." Bradley sighs, gets up, takes the paper from me, and gives it to Thomas, then goes back to writing that letter for God knows who. I watch Thomas read the note, twitching impatiently. I'm still not shaking, which is great. I feel so relaxed these days. I'm still suffering from anxiety, and can have possible breakdowns, but I don't shake, which is truly awesome. Thomas looks up from the note and smiles at me, nodding. Yes! He'll do it. Now to distract Bradley. I pull my most treasured ever possession out of my pocket. The phone Craig gave me for my birthday.

"Look what Craig gave me for my birthday, Bradley." I hold the phone up in the air. Bradley turns from the letter and stares at it, looking envious. I see Thomas quickly grab the paper. I smirk at the success of stealing the paper and put the cell back in my pocket. Bradley nods in approval and turns back around, ready to continue writing. He jumps up when he realises the paper's not there.

"What the hell? Thomas, give it back!" I grab my keys from my desk and open my door, making Bradley watch in confusion. I stride over to Thomas' cell, holding in my excitement to see what the letter says. Bradley realises what I'm doing and glowers at me.

"Tweek, don't even _think _about it." He says threateningly. It's a good thing I know Craig, because the old me would've never had the guts to do this. I guess Craig just has the power to make me confident and evil at the same time. I totally ignore Bradley, and gesture for Thomas to shove the letter under the door. Thomas nods obediently and shoves it roughly under the door, crumpling it pretty badly. Bradley cringes.

"B-Be careful with that!" He says, knocking his fists together uneasily, sorta like Butters does sometimes. Jeez, this letter's really important to him.

"What the hell does this thing say?" I pick the piece of paper off the floor and straighten it, trying to see what it says.

"Dear Butters…" I read.

"DON'T READ IT OUT LOUD!" Bradley shouts frantically, looking really freaked out. All the patients pause from whatever they're doing and stare. I gradually stop reading it out loud, for Bradley's sake, but that doesn't stop me from reading altogether. I blush heavily as I read all of the contents. Bradley watches me helplessly from a distance, blushing just as heavily as me.

"… A … A love letter to Butters… Really Bradley? _Really_?" Bradley's puts his head in his hands, probably feeling really hopeless.

"I mean… I know you like him and that… but this is … hard core."

"You know?"

"Of course I know. You're my… my best friend. Besides, I know all about stuff like that. 'Cause after all, I like Cr-

I stop in mid-sentence and look away, one of my hands clamped over my mouth. I can feel Bradley's eyes burning a hole into me.

"So you like Craig, huh?" After a short while, I nod slowly.

"Since whe-

"Tweek Tweak! Your father's waiting for you!" I send an apologetic look to Bradley and run over to the nurse, letting her handcuff me. With my special fluffy handcuffs of course.

* * *

><p>"Why did you want to see me? We've already had our session today." I ask as I open the door to Dad's office. My heart leaps when I see Craig there. YES!<p>

"Dad's not here. I asked the nurse to tell you he was here. Prank." Craig says, smiling, while grabbing a key out of nowhere and unlocking my handcuffs. He somehow always does that. What a rule breaker. I'm meant to be hadcuffed _everywhere _except for when I have sessions with Dad. I pisses me off how he tries to act happy, when I can definitely tell there's something wrong with him. I give him a fake smile. I spot a little girl with red hair next to him. She looks about four years old. She's really cute.

"Aw, who's this?" Craig looks at the girl, as if he'd actually forgot she's here. He probably did.

"Oh. This is Ruby. My… _our _little sis."

"Wow, she's really cute." Craig puts his arm around her and gives her a one-armed hug, trying to strangle her.

"Don't let that fool you. She's a little devil." Just as he says that, Ruby bites his arm, _through _his jacket, making him immediately release her.

"See what I mean?" Craig says, frowning slightly while rubbing his arm. Ruby sticks her tongue out at him and looks at me.

"Who's that?" She asks Craig, pointing at me.

"Stop pointing Ruby. It's rude. That's Tweek. Remember I told you about him?" Ruby instantly smiles at me. I wave awkwardly, not having much experience with young girls. She runs over and tackles me, out of nowhere, crushing me in a super hug. I look questionably at Craig, while struggling to breathe.

"Um… she's pretty strong." Ruby glares and gives Craig the bird. She turns back around and smiles sweetly at me.

"Tweek's Ruby's big brother!" So she talks in third person. I look over to see what Craig's doing. Wow, I can literally see the deathly aura around him. I don't understand why he's so jealous. It's just his sister.

"I guess I am your big bro…" I reply, patting her head, trying to be brotherly. Her eyes practically glow from happiness. I guess our parents never really give her any sort of affection.

"I like Tweek better than Craig." Craig ignores the comment and pulls her off me, still looking angry. I think he's just cranky from lack of sleep. Craig puts Ruby down and start telling her off. I observe him, feeling upset by how tired he is. I can't bear him looking like that…

"…Craig…" I say quietly.

"Ruby, you just met him. You don't just…"

"Craig."

"… someone out of nowhere like that, ok? You see-"

"Craig!"

"What _is_ it, Tweek?"

"You … You need to sleep…!" I tell him, feeling almost paranoid. Craig looks confused, as is he actually doesn't know what I'm talking about.

"Where'd that come from? I'm fi-

"No you're not!" I shout, grabbing my hair in frustration. Craig's stares at me, shocked, while Ruby looks around uncomfortably, biting her nails. She knows what's going on. She _knows_.

"…Why're you so worried, Tweek?" Craig asks quietly, trying to look me straight in the eyes, while I keep trying to avoid him. I notice Ruby grimace.

"… Lately, you just seem so different. You always look so unhappy and uncomfortable around me… I figured it was lack of…" I shake my head and sit on the couch. Ruby follows and climbs onto my lap, before I can have a chance to push her off. Craig slumps his shoulders and walks over to me.

"Look Tweek, it's not that I feel uncomfortable around you or anything. I'm just freaked out by the fact that I … I…" Craig coughs and covers his mouth, breathing heavily.

"What is it?" Craig inhales deeply.

"… Nothing. Just something creepy that happened at school. It's nothing…" Craig gives me a fake smile and sits next to me. Like hell I'll believe that, but I'll play along, for Craig's sake. Ruby shifts on my lap, looking like she's in a trance. I wonder why. It's not natural for someone her age to be that strange. Even I wasn't like that. Ruby eyes the TV in front of us. I've never watched on it before, since I'm just a patient.

"Hey, Tweek, can Ruby watch it?" Ruby asks innocently, reminding me of Butters. Looks like she's broken out of her trance.

"I guess." I look around for a remote, smiling as I see one right in front of me, on the coffee table. Wow, this office is weird. TV, couch, coffee table. Just put in a ice cream bar and be done with it.

"YAY!" Ruby switches on the TV. I think this is my first time watching one. It looks like a security camera on the screen. What the hell?

"Ruby thinks this is a movie…" Ruby says, pressing a button on the remote.

"What does the info box say? What's the name of the movie?" So she can't read.

"It says '_Paranormal Activity_'…" I tell her, taking no notice of what Craig's doing. Paranormal Activity? What the hell kind of name's that?

"Hey Craig, what's…?" I instantly stop speaking as I see Craig leaning heavily on my shoulder, fast asleep. I think I've died and gone to heaven. Craig's _leaning_ on me, for Christ's sake!

"… Tweek loves big brother lots…" Ruby says out of nowhere, not taking her eyes off of the TV. She seems to find this creepy horror movie interesting for some reason. She's twisted, I guess. Just like her brother. In a good way though. Twisted in a good way…

"What … what d'ya mean…?" Ruby looks at me as if I'm retarded.

"Ruby can tell Tweek loves big brother a lot." Man, this kid's creepy. Is she telepathic or something? She probably _is_. She should meet Kenny. They'd like each other a lot.

"…Yeah… I do." Maybe she just means it in a brotherly way.

"Tweek should give Craig a love letter…" Or not.

"L-Look Ruby, don't tell anyone I like-

"Love."

"…Don't tell anyone I lo… love Craig. Ok?" Ruby looks at me knowingly.

"And why not?" She asks in a voice that sounds as if she already knows the answer. In a way, that scares me, because I don't really know the answer myself.

"… 'Cause … 'Cause it's wrong for me to like-

"Love."

"It's wrong for me to … _love _… him that way." Ruby's expression turns from knowing to confused.

"Why?"

"Because we're both boys…"

"…Craig doesn't care about that."

"What?"

"Craig loves Tweek because he's Tweek." She tells me sincerely. So she thinks it's normal to be g… gay? God, I hate that word. Wait a minute … Craig loves me?

"He _what_?" Ruby rolls her eyes and sighs irritably.

"Craig loves Tweek because he's _Tweek_. Jeez." … I'm still trying to process what she said in my mind.

"…Craig … _loves_… me? _That_ way?" Ruby smiles cutely.

"Uh huh! Craig doesn't want to accept it though. That's why Craig's been so 'uncomfortable' with Tweek. And Craig can't sleep because Craig never stops thinking about Tweek." She nods to herself knowingly and looks back at the TV, watching some couple screaming. I lean back against the couch, repeating Ruby's words in my mind.

"…_Craig doesn't care about that."_

"_Craig loves Tweek because he's Tweek."_

"_Craig loves Tweek because he's _Tweek. _Jeez."_

"_Uh huh! Craig doesn't want to accept it though. That's why Craig's been so 'uncomfortable' with Tweek. And Craig can't sleep because Craig never stops thinking about Tweek."_

"Does…" Ruby looks from the TV to me, a bored expression on her face.

"… Does … he know … I like-

"Love." I finally lose my patience and glare at Ruby. She glares back even more, similar to the way Craig glare and Dad glare. I stop glaring and slump in defeat.

"Does he know I _love _him that way?"

"Mmhm. Craig told me he knows."

"…Who told him?"

"… Ruby doesn't know who." She's lying.

* * *

><p>"Tweek… Tweek!" What? Oh crap, I fell asleep. I open my eyes to see Dad standing over us. Ruby's on my lap and Craig's still leaning on my shoulder. They're both dead asleep. They must've been really tired, especially Craig. I push Ruby gently off me, trying not to be forceful. She wakes up immediately and rubs the back of her head, looking drowsy. Unlike his sister, Craig's a <em>heavy<em> sleeper.

"Craig, wake up." Dad blushes at what Craig's doing. He coughs and looks away, not really wanting to see. Ruby glares at him, probably for acting homophobic. Craig finally wakes up, leaning away from me and rubbing his eyes.

"What is it? I was sleeping like a lo…" Craig freezes when he sees me next to him. His eyes travel from my shoulder to my eyes. His mouth drops open in horror and embarrassment.

"Was I just…?" I nod, smiling nervously, not sure how he'll react. He returns my nervous smile and gets up. He glares at Ruby for God knows what, to get an excuse not to look at me.

"Guys, you've been in here for four hours. Craig, if you don't want your mother to yell at you again for skipping school, then we need to get going. You can go where you want Tweek, just make sure you get back to your cell by nine."

"Alright…" I say, watching Craig pat Ruby's head. Man, they're very good siblings to each other. It makes me feel like I'm intruding, which isn't that great.

"Come on you two. Stop being so dramatic after whatever you fought about." Dad picks up Ruby and starts walking outside.

"Wait! Ruby wants to say goodbye to Tweek!" Ruby struggles out of her… our Dad's grip and runs over to me. She grabs my hand and pulls me down to my knees, so that we're face to face.

"Bye-bye, Tweek. Ruby likes having Tweek as her new big bro." She smiles innocently at me. I would smile back, but before I have a chance, she grabs my shoulders and gives me a small kiss on the cheek. Not a romantic one, a sisterly one. Either way, it makes Craig scowl, and Dad's jaw drop open. Ruby pulls away after a split second and smiles at me in her cute way.

"Tweek's a good brother." Thank. God. That proves she doesn't think of her and I romantically. Dad picks Ruby up once again, blushing at her innocence. Craig's still glaring daggers at her. I wonder why the hell he's so jealous. I'm almost one hundred per cent sure that he doesn't like me romantically. I would say completely one hundred, but what Ruby said earlier… has made me unsure. Not to mention when Dad thought the same thing, when he was asking why we'd attempted to escape.

"Ok, you said bye. We're going, young lady." Dad carries Ruby out of the room.

"Craig! Hurry up!" He shouts, sounding rushed. 'Mom' must be really scary. Craig rolls his eyes and starts making his way to the exit, fidgeting. He pauses at the door. I'm about to ask what's wrong, but before I could utter a word, Craig runs over with lightning speed, grabs my shoulders, and presses his lips to my cheek. Oh God, my heart's beating so fast. Craig's kiss… is definitely not brotherly. He pulls away after about five seconds, unlike Ruby, whose kiss was only a peck. Craig pulls his hat over his eyes, to make it impossible for us to make eye contact, smiles bitterly, and runs out the door as fast as I've ever seen him run, after his… our family. I put my hand to my cheek, feeling dazed.

I … will … never … wash … my … face … again.

* * *

><p>I walk down the hall, still feeling dazed. Craig just did something … so un-Craig like. Not to mention queer. Kissing me on the cheek … is the last thing on earth I'd expect Craig to do. Not to mention out of jealously. I wonder why-<p>

***BANG***

I fall to the floor from the loud noise. My anxiety makes me do that. I wince and cover my ears, sitting up. Good thing I'm not handcuffed behind my back. What the hell _was _that? I've never heard anything like it before. I get up slowly rubbing my face because I'd landed on it, not to mention on a tiled floor. Wait, did I just…

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I JUST RUBBED THE CHEEK THAT CRAIG KISSED ME ON! AHHHHHHHH!

***BANG***

What the fuck? What _is_ that? I pull myself up and walk through the hall, towards where the bang came from. I turn a corner… and am met with a horrific sight. A kid and a nurse lying on the floor, bleeding heavily. The kid's twitching slightly, so I think he's alive. I drop to my knees and check his pulse. Thank God I paid attention in health class. Sure enough, his heart's beating. Slowly, but beating. I look closely at the kid.

Whoa… it's the same kid that lost his temper at me in the cafeteria almost two _months _ago. The one that said everyone in South Park knows about me.

"Are you alright?" I ask frantically, thinking I'm about to lose him, judging from the slow beating of his heart. I hear a click behind me, making me twitch.

"**Turn around slowly, or you're dead."** I do as the person says, and turn around slowly, feeling severely afraid. When I finish turning, I see some guy dressed in black, with a gun. So that's what the noise was. Gunshots.

Oh my God. This is the end for me. I'm done for. This guy has no mercy. He shot a kid like me, so why would he let me live? I close my eyes and wait for a bullet to hit me.

"**Open your eyes."** I open my eyes and see the guy lowering his gun. Why's he not gonna shoot me?

"Why… aren't you shooting me?"

"…**You're Tweek Tweak, aren't you?"** I nod hesitantly.

"**There's no way I'd ever kill someone as famous as you. Have no worries."**

"…What makes me so famous?"

"**Everyone in South Park knows about you, you little shit."**

"Why do they know about me?"

"**Don't joke around. After what you did when you were four, it's a miracle you're not in juvenile hall."**

"What did I do that was so bad?" The guy laughs mockingly, making me feel dumb.

"**Are you that stupid? Have you forgotten that you murdered** **your own **_**mother**_**?"**


	9. Chapter 9 Revised

"W-What?" There's no way that's true. I loved my mom. I can barely remember her, but I _know _I loved her a lot. There's no way in hell that I killed her. No way in _hell_. I'd sooner have killed myself. There _must_ be some kind of misunderstanding.

"**You heard me. When you were four years old, you pushed your mother down the stairs, went mute from the guilt, repressed the memory, and were put in here. Everyone in South Park knows that."**

"That's not true! I would never do such a thing!"

"**Why else do you think everyone's so keen are so keen to get you arrested? Why else do you think that no matter how sane you are, you're staying in here for the rest of your life?"**

"…"

"**That's what I thought. Now get out of the way." **The guy pushes me aside roughly and starts walking towards the cell room.

"Wait! What are you doing here? I mean, who breaks into a _mental_ _institution,_ for God's sake?"

"**I'm here to get my son back. Now shut up!" **The guy walks away, leaving me alone. I've never been more shocked in my life. There's no way … absolutely no way I killed my mom. I'm not like that. That asshole guy … is a liar. I _hate _liars.

"OH MY FUCKING GOD! TWEEK, WHAT DID YOU DO!" I turn to see a nurse screaming at me, staring at the two bodies behind me with wide eyes. Oh Lord, I forgot about the kid. He might be dying. And worse, the nurse thinks I killed both of them. Another nurse comes running. She freezes when she sees the bodies.

"W-What the hell _happened_?"

"This insane kid killed them! I knew we shouldn't have let him out, even once! He's a murderer! A killer!"

"No! I didn't kill them, it was-

***BANG***

Shit. Who'd that guy shoot now?

"What was that?" The nurse asks the second nurse.

"It was a gunshot! Some guy broke in with a gun. He said he's here to get his son back." I answer for the second nurse, still staring at the bodies. The first nurse covers her mouth.

"Oh God! Do you think it was that creepy father that kept calling every day and tried to convince us to release his son?"

"It might be. That guy was pretty scary. Tweek, did he shoot them, or did you kill them?"

"_He_ killed them! What do I look like to you, a serial killer?" The nurses exchange looks.

"Look, whatever. We've got a murderer after a kid. Tweek, go to your father's office. Right now. And _stay _there!" The nurses run off to God knows where… probably security's office or something. I wonder, should I go to my Dad's office, or chase the killer?

…

Apologies nurse. Your orders have just been dis-o-beyed. I run down the hall towards the cell room. When I get there, I immediately notice a dead nurse; that was probably outside the cell room, guarding it. I inch around the blood, while covering my mouth and trying not to throw up. I enter the cell room quietly to not be noticed. I see the killer… I'm just gonna call him Bob. I see _Bob_ in front of one of the cells, trying to break the glass gently, so that the vibration detectors don't go off. Good luck with that, Sherlock. Most of the kids are quivering in the corners of their cells, while others are under the covers of their beds. The really brave ones, like Bradley, are standing up, trying to see what's going on. I think the cell is the one to the left of Cartman's. Well, sorry Bob, but you're not gonna succeed in this.

"Give me something to hit him with…" I whisper to the kid in the first cell on the right, next to the door. He nods, gets a paper clip, opens his cell door and quietly gives me a metal baseball bat. A little extreme … but who cares? I'm gonna get to knock out a killer! That's like a dream come true. Apart from like marrying Craig. I asked this kid specifically because I know he's good at sneaking stuff in, like keys, weapons, and sometimes drugs. It's like his talent. I nod to him in thanks, hold the bat up, ready to swing it, and creep up behind Bob, who's totally concentrated on trying to break the glass.

"TAKE THIS, MOTHAFUCKA!" I scream as I bring the bat down on his head.

…

Crap. He's not knocked out. He's bleeding, and probably has a concussion, but he's not knocked out. He turns around to see his attacker and sees me, of course. He lunges at me. I hit him again with the bat, in self-defence, and hit him really hard in the ribs, probably breaking a few. That sure as hell doesn't stop him. He holds his gun up and shoots it, barely missing my arm. the bullet rips the fabric. Most of the kids gasp, including Cartman.

"HIT HIM WHERE IT HURTS MOST! DO IT!" Cartman yells to me. I wonder for a second, then realise what he means. I know I'm a guy too but … this is an emergency situation. I hit Bob with the bat in the nuts as hard as I can. So hard that he coughs up blood. He drops to his knees and glares up at me.

"**Y-You'll pay for this, you little ass."** I eye the bat in my hands, not sure what to do. Should I hit him in the head again, or wait for him to stand up? I don't wanna be the kind of guy that hits a man when he's down. Then again…

Just as I hold the bat up, ready to hit this freak in the head, planning to hopefully knock him out, Bob swipes his leg from under me, making me fall to the floor. As I fall, I drop the bat. It rolls about 5ft away. Crap, I'm gone.

Goodbye everyone.

***BANG***

Jesus, that … that really _hurts_. I knew it would be painful, but … not _this_ bad. Jesus Christ. As I thought, he just shot me right below the heart. I scream in pain, which isn't surprising. Most of the kids, who were hiding in corners, covering their eyes, see that I've been shot and scream as well. Shit. How are the nurses and staff not hearing all this? It's ridiculous. Man, at this rate, I'll probably bleed to death before help even gets here. And I'm sure as hell that none of the patients are gonna help. Except maybe Cartman. He's cool enough. Wait…

"Cartman!" I yell weakly, as loud as I possibly can in this state.

"What?"

"Hit the walls! Hit the walls you idiot!" Cartman ohes, nods and does as I say. Sure enough, after a few seconds, the alarm goes off. Thank God.

"**You little brat! What'd you **_**do**_**!" **Bob shrieks at Cartman, with his back turned to me. The fool. Seeing it's my chance, I stand up shakily, take a few steps, grab the bat, and hit Bob on the back of the head as hard as I can, this time knocking him to the floor, successfully knocking him unconscious. I drop to my knees, panting. The bat makes a big 'thunk' as it lands on the floor next to me. It's not exactly easy hitting someone with a heavy metal bat when you've just been shot in the chest.

Soon afterwards, the security come running in. They probably weren't expecting to be met with the sight of an unconscious guy with a gun, a kid shot in the chest (with a metal bat lying next to him), and the rest of the patients shaking in their cells. One of them grabs me for not being handcuffed, but then notices I'm bleeding from my chest.

"Whoa! What _happened _to you?" I glare at him. Does it really matter? I'm bleeding either way.

"What d'ya _**think**_happened? He shot me!" I hiss, clutching my wound in pain. God it hurts so much.

"Oh shit! Guys, we need to get him treated, pronto!"

…

Great. I think I'm losing consciousness. Like Bob. Everything's getting blurry. I can hear faintly one of the security saying they're losing me. Oh no. Am I dying?

Part of me wants to die. After all, if what Bob said is true, I killed my mom.

* * *

><p>"Guys! Guys! He's waking up!"<p>

"Oh my God! Is he okay?"

"How the hell should I know?" What _now_? I open my eyes and sit up, flinching as my gunshot wound stings. Craig sees I'm definitely awake and puts his arms around me. I silently cheer at the touch. I look past Craig's shoulder and see Ruby, Cartman, Kenny, Butters, Stan, Kyle, and even Bradley.

"Tweek, you can't do that to me, man. I practically crapped my pants when I heard you'd been shot by some psycho. It was even worse than when I heard you'd attempted suicide." What? I've sorta forgotten what happened…

"…What happened again?" I ask quietly, feeling dizzy, probably from painkillers.

"You forgot?" I nod slowly. "Some psycho broke into the institute with a gun, wanting to free his son or something. Apparently he'd killed his wife in front of the kid, so the kid was sent there because he was mentally scarred, and the dude lost it and tried to get his son back by breaking in."

"Yeah, don't you remember, Tweek? You totally kicked his ass and knocked him out with a baseball bat!" I smile, suddenly remembering what happened.

"Yeah. It wasn't easy though. Especially since I got shot."

"It's a good thing the fatass set off the alarm, or else you would've bled to death." Kenny says. I remember my manners and nod in gratitude to Cartman. I notice his right hand's bandaged.

"What happened to your hand?" Cartman looks at his hand, as if he forgot himself.

"… It got cut when I broke the glass on my wall, by banging on it so hard." I waver, feeling guilty.

"Sorry man." I notice Cartman's in normal clothes, and not in the white clothes all patients have to wear.

"You've been released, Cartman?"

"Yeah. My … sentence, I guess you could call it, is over." But then…

"How long have I been out?"

"A week." Craig says, still not letting go of me. Not that I have a problem with it. Jeez, Craig must've been really worried. I hear someone clearing their throat gruffly. Craig immediately pulls away from me, looking annoyed. I understand why. Dad just walked in and saw us. He gestured for all the boys to leave, leaving only me, Craig, Dad and Ruby.

"Are you feeling alright, Tweek?"

"…I've been better."

"I'm sure you have." Dad smiles solemnly, looking slightly stressed about something.

"That guy was really screwed up, huh? I can't believe you knocked him out! He must've made you really pissed or something." Craig laughs at his own joke. I remember what … Bob … said to me. I … killed my mom. I cough and cover my mouth, eyes wide. Craig sees my distressed face, making his smile disappear. He grabs my shoulder.

"W-What's wrong, Tweek? You look so pale…" I shove him away and get out of the bed, running to a door. I open it and see a toilet. Thank you God. I run in, followed by Craig

"Tweek, what's wro-

I interrupt Craig by throwing up, for the first time in three years. Craig stares wide eyed, definitely not expecting me do that. Too bad for him, 'cause I'm puking my guts out. I can't bear the fact that I may have taken my own mom's life. I feel someone touching me, and turn to see Craig patting my back, avoiding eye contact. I cough and inhale deeply, turning to Craig and smiling.

"I'm alright now. Sorry if I scared you, Craig." I rub my temples, puffing slightly.

"…Tweek … what the hell did that guy say to you…?" I look at Craig helplessly. I can't lie to him … but I don't want him to know I might have killed someone … when I was only _four_ years old. I eventually shake my head at Craig, giving him an answer that says I won't tell him. Craig takes my hand and pulls me out of the room, to where Dad and Ruby are still standing, looking a mix of confused and freaked out. I look away, towards the wall, to avoid eye contact. I really don't want to be asked questions right now.

"Tweek, answer me. What happened with that psycho?" I shake my head again, while rubbing my eyes to prevent crying. That's the last thing I'd ever want to do in front of Craig. I'd look like such a wimp. I hear Dad speak.

"Ruby, go get Tweek some coffee. Ask a nurse to help you. Go on." I hear some pattering on the floor, then the door opening and closing, meaning Ruby's left. I take my hands away from my eyes, still avoiding eye contact with Craig and Dad.

"… Please tell me, Tweek." My eyes wander over next to me, to see Craig looking at me pleadingly. That's not like him at all. Craig's meant to be stoic, quiet, and not care what's going on. That's what he was like when I first met him. Either it's my imagination, or he's changed dramatically.

"… He … he told me why everyone in South Park knows about me…"

"Tweek, I told you. I've never heard anyone speak about you in particular. I've never even heard anyone mention your name, apart from the people who've met you." Liar.

"That's a lie. Everyone in South Park knows me because … because I …" I gag and cover my mouth, trying to prevent myself from puking again.

"What? What is it?"

"Because I killed my mom!" I immediately start crying after I say it. Craig's jaw drops open and Dad stiffens.

"_What_?"

"When I was four, I purposely pushed my mom down the stairs, killing her. That's why I've never been able to leave the institution."

"That's … Dad, that's not true, right?" Craig asks our Dad hopefully.

"Of course not."

"But the way the guy told me … was so adamant…"

"Tweek, I swear to God, you did not kill your mom. Your father told me himself."

"… I don't believe you …" Dad sighs and pulls something out of his pocket. An envelope…?

"I hoped I wouldn't have to show you this until you're older … but … here. It might help you." He hands me the envelope with an impassive look. I immediately tear open the envelope and pull out a letter. It says 'TO TWEEK TWEAK' on the top.

"Have you read it?" Dad shakes his head.

"Where did you find it?"

"Craig found it in a drawer in your dad's room."

I unfold the piece of paper and start to read the contents.

_To my beloved son, Tweek Tweak,_

_You should only be reading this if I have somehow died and left you alone. I wrote this because I wanted you to know the truth. You should know by now that many people in South Park know you as the child that murdered his mother. The truth is, you didn't kill your mother. She killed herself. Your mother and I were never really in love with each other. In fact, the only reason we stayed together is because you were born. Despite not loving each other, we both loved you to death, so we decided to stay married so you wouldn't have to live a life with divorced parents._

_Shortly after you turned two, I began cheating on your mother. I think she knew, but decided not to do anything about it. You always saw me coming home with strange women, while your mother was at work, but you were too young to realise what was going on. One day, your mother came home from work early to take care of you because you were sick. I didn't know, so I ended up coming home with a woman. Your mother heard us and came running to see who I was with. She stopped at the top of the stairs when she saw me and the lady. You came running after her to see what was wrong. You stopped behind her to prevent yourself from pushing her down the stairs. I still don't know the reason she did it, but when she saw you behind her, she purposely jumped down the stairs, breaking her neck and killing herself._

_The lady I was with was immediately convinced that you pushed her, not by accident, and went running to the police. I was so shocked by the sudden death, and felt so guilty that I was probably the reason your mom killed herself, that I betrayed you and told the police that you indeed pushed her down the stairs. You were quarantined and asked if you'd pushed her. You were too young to understand the situation, so I easily convinced you to say yes, without the cops knowing. You went mute soon afterwards, so I took you to a doctor. The police kept an eye on you at all times, so they saw. When the police and I found out you had anxiety and shaking, we used that as an excuse to lock you up in the institute forever._

_Almost immediately after you left, I realised what I did was so insanely wrong. I begged and begged for you to be released, but the staff and police didn't believe that you were innocent. They eventually softened and let you come home with me last year. I realised how much you still meant to me, and how much I regretted what I did when you were four. _

_So, bottom line is, no matter what anyone says, you did _not _kill your mom. I hope this letter will help prove your innocence, I hope Dr Tucker will do a better job of taking care of you than I did, and I hope you can find it in yourself to forgive me for what happened._

_From your honestly loving father, Richard Tweak. XXX_

I drop the letter and continue crying from earlier. Craig watches me, looking sympathetic.

"What … what did it say?"

"… Th-That I didn't kill my mom… she killed herself."

"Oh, thank _God_!" Craig puts a hand on his chest and sighs in relief. Dad… no, Mr Tucker stares at him for actually believing that I might've killed my mom. The doors opens, and Ruby walks in, carefully balancing a cup of coffee in her hands.

… That stuff … killed my dad.

"Here you go, Twe-

"NOOOOOO! GET IT AWAY FROM ME!" I hit the cup out of Ruby's hands with my arm, resulting in it spilling all over Craig.

"AH, FUCKING _HELL_!" Craig paces in a small circle, cringing in pain.

"What the hell is _wrong_ with you, Tweek?" Mr Tucker asks me, trying to calm his son down in annoyance. I point at the shattered cup on the floor, trembling.

"That stuff killed my dad!"

"Tweek, one cup won't kill you. And what about your addiction?" I don't give a crap about my addiction. I never wanna drink that stuff again. I don't wanna end up with the same fate as my father.

"I don't give a fuck! I'm never gonna drink that stuff again!" All three of them stare at me.

"So you've gotten rid of your addiction?"

"… I … I guess you could say that…"

And, in a way, it's all thanks to Craig.

* * *

><p>I sigh after my adoptive family finally leaves. I mean, I like them and all, but I just want to sleep. I got shot in the <em>chest<em> after all.

"Finally, some peace and quiet. I thought you guys would _never_ stop talking." A voice says from behind the curtain next to me. I jump at the sound. I didn't think anyone's in the room apart from me.

"Whoa! Who are you? You scared the shit out of me." I pull the curtain away and see the kid that I thought was dead earlier. That same kid that had a fight with me in the cafeteria that time.

"Oh. It's you…" I remark grimly. I can't exactly say I've forgiven him for what he said to me that time. Especially since none of it is true.

"Why the harsh voice?" Like he doesn't know.

"…Our last encounter wasn't exactly chirpy." I answer, glaring slightly. I'm not one to hold a grudge, but…

"Yeah, sorry about that. I was a little harsh. At least I had plenty of time to think about it in that padded cell." Holy crap.

"… You were in a padded cell the _whole _time?"

"Yup. Just as I got released, some guy decided to be a dick and shoot me as _well_ as the nurse."

"Yeah, I found you."

"Oh. So you were the voice I was hearing?"

"I suppose."

"…"

"So the nurse died?" I eventually ask.

"Yeah, I heard she did. In fact I heard two did." We both chuckled evilly while looking at the ground, secretly thanking Satan. We're not that merciless or anything, but kids like us consider nurses to be the biggest enemy in this world.

…

"…Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did you lie about that stuff? About the kids in South Park knowing about me. I know the adults all know about me, but the kids don't."

"What I said was true. The kids in the elementary school all talk about you. I heard it myself."

"That's a lie. Craig told me-

"First of all, you shouldn't be so gullible like that. Craig's not God. He doesn't know everything, and he does lie. Don't just believe stuff he says just because you like him."

"…You know about that?"

"Dude, all the patients know. Anyway, second of all, Craig wasn't actually lying about that. He never hears people talk about you because he's special." Man, I hate that word so much.

"Special?"

"Well, at first, everyone knew his dad works at the institution, so they tried not to talk bad about the hospital. They didn't really know about you then. But then, when Craig came to school one day and wouldn't stop talking about you, a few kids went home and asked their parents about you. They told them that you pushed your mom down the stairs-

"I didn't!"

"I know that _now_. They told them you pushed your mom down the stairs, but the kids lied and spread all kinds of rumours around the school that you were a twisted serial killer or something. They made sure Craig didn't hear, since he likes you so much. That's why Craig told you that."

"What about Cartman? He said he didn't hear anything."

"Yeah, but Cartman's an idiot."

"Oh yeah. So… how do you know all this?"

"I'd rather not say."

"…What?"

"Let's just say there's nothing legal involved. Just _drop _it."

"A-Alright…" God, I feel so sleepy. The painkillers they gave me an hour ago are insanely strong. Just as I'm about to drift off, I hear the sound of the door opening next to me. Craig walks in, looking distraught. I would say hi, but the drugs are really getting to me.

"Hey Tweek."

"…Shouldn't you be getting home?" Craig shakes his head and sits on a chair next to my bed, still looking distressed.

"What's wrong?" Craig stands up again, really suddenly.

"Nothing. Gotta go." He turns and walks outside again. I watch him tiredly. I hear voices behind the door. I think its Ruby and Craig. Though, with how drowsy I am, it could be anyone.

"_DAMMIT CRAIG! GET BACK OUT THERE! DON'T WIMP OUT! DO IT LIKE A _MAN_!" _

"_B-But what if-_

"_THERE IS NO 'WHAT IF'! Now fucking do it!" _There's a side of Ruby I never wanna know.

"Hey again." Craig says as he walks in again, trying to look happier, though he fails. So sad.

"What d'ya want, Craig?" I ask in a soft voice, looking bored. Craig sits down again awkwardly.

"… Can I hold your hand?"

"Mmhm." I'm wondering why he wants to do that. I would ask, but I'm almost too exhausted to _speak_.

There's a long silence. It's a pretty weird sight, when you think about it. Me lying in a hospital bed, fighting not to fall asleep, while Craig holds my left hand, thinking about God knows what, with a dejected expression. It must look really queer. My eyes travel to my right, to make sure the other kid's asleep, and not watching us. He is.

"… Hey…" Craig says out of nowhere, in an almost dark voice. I look over to Craig, to show him I'm listening. Barely.

"… Do you … like anyone …?" Whoa. Where'd _that_ come from? I know what he means, but I decide to play dumb, so he doesn't get suspicious.

"Yeah, I like lots of people. I like Ruby. I like you. I like Cartman. I like-

"**No**. Not … not _that_ way… I meant … romantically…" I flinch. Why the hell would Craig want to know that? Wait, what if…

"…_Craig … _loves… _me? That way?" _

"_Uh huh! Craig doesn't want to accept it though. That's why Craig's been so 'uncomfortable' with Tweek. And Craig can't sleep because Craig never stops thinking about Tweek."_

… Ruby's right and Craig likes me back. _That_ way.

…

Nah. He's straight. Everyone knows that. Ruby's paranoid anyway.

"Yeah, I do like someone that way. A lot." Craig stiffens, pretty much crushing my hand.

"…W-Who is she?" He just _had_ to assume it's a girl.

"… They're … a guy …" Judging by his face, Craig's not that surprised. I thought he'd be shocked by my answer.

"…Who are they?" Like hell I'm gonna tell him.

"… Well, I can't tell you. But you … know them well."

"… Cartman?"

"No. Too dumb."

"… Kenny?"

"No. Too asshole-ish."

"… Bradley?"

"He's my best friend, Craig."

"But you don't like him, right?"

"… No."

"Butters?"

"No. Too … happy."

"… Kyle?"

"No… nothing really wrong with him though. But no."

"Stan?"

"He's straight. And stop guessing. Even if you name the correct person, I won't say yes."

"… Even if I guess it's me?" …Wow, this is awkward. Just avoid eye contact, avoid eye contact. I'll have to lie. I'm not risking losing this guy.

"PAHAHAHAHAHAHA! YEAH RIGHT! YOU'RE MY FRIEND! NOT MY LOVE!" I sit up, point, and laugh at Craig. I regret it when I see the hurt look on Craig's face. I lay back down and once again avoid eye contact.

"Yeah … yeah… thank God. I'm not gay so…" He smiles and laughs, looking totally normal.

"…O-Oh. You aren't?"

"Haha! Of course not! I still like Milly. I've been begging her to come back to me."

"Haha! What a dumbass I am." We both laugh at each other for a pretty long time. I, of course, fake laugh. Craig's is real though, which hurts a lot. What a wimp I am. Being upset just because the guy I like doesn't feel the same way. How childish.

"I … I've gotta go. Ruby's … waiting." Craig gets up and quickly walks to the door, where Ruby's obviously waiting for him outside. Almost immediately after he walks out, I hear her start shouting at him.

"_WELL? WHAT DID TWEEK SAY?"_ I hear Craig mumble something.

"_CRAIG'S A WIMP! GET BACK OUT THERE! GO!"_

"_Kids! What's wrong?"_

"_Nothing." – "Nothing." _They both say.

"…_You two need help. Good thing I'm a psychologist. Now come on, it's almost dusk. Your mother's gonna _murder _me."_

"_But Dad! Craig needs to say something to Tweek."_

"_What is it?"_

"_That Craig lo-_

"_IT'S NOTHING. LET'S GO!" _I hear the sound of footsteps running away, followed by two sets of normal ones.

I'm not as stupid as I used to be. By now, I definitely know Craig probably just has a crush on me. It's just a crush though. Not serious, romantic feelings like mine are. He's just confused.

There's no chance for us.

It's like God's deliberately screwing me.


	10. Chapter 10 Revised

"Tweek, wait! Let me help you. You can't do everything by yourself in that condition. Don't walk so fast!" Mr Tucker chases after me. It's his fault for being a slow walker.

"I think I can freaking _walk_ by myself! I'm fine! Jesus." I shove Mr Tucker away and walk out of the hospital doors, happy to finally be outside again. I've been in the hospital for two weeks, from that goddamn gunshot. NO ONE visited me, not even Ruby or Craig. Oh wait, Butters did once, all by himself, but it was nothing special. He just seemed to come because he wanted to get away from South Park. But, to show me she was thinking about me, Ruby sent me a mini stuffed bear every single _day_, a different colour each time. I've never been one for stuffed toys, but I totally refused when one of the nurses offered to throw them away. She thought they were annoying me. Good of her to offer, though. It was cool to have _nice _staff around. Anyways, back to the topic…

Craig didn't send me anything.

I've been really moody for the past few days, most likely because I haven't seen Craig nor Ruby for _so _long. What's more, Mr Tucker thinks that I'll die if I take a step at the moment. True, my chest still hurts a little, but I won't freaking _die_. Maybe he's acting so worried because he's trying to convince me to be his adopted son again. Well, technically, I still am, but I sure as hell don't _want _to be. I have a real father, and a real mother. That's all I need. Even if they're dead.

Mr Tucker watches me as we walk, looking surprised. He suddenly smiles and grabs my shoulder. Crap, he's come up with an idea. Knowing him, it _won't_ be pleasant. His ideas never are.

"Hey, how 'bout I race you to the car? You should be ok to run, right? I'm sorry for being so worried. So you wanna do it?" I glare and shake my head, even though I didn't expect his sudden change of heart. I'm really not in the mood for racing. Or anything for that matter. I just want to see Craig. Things were a little uncomfortable the last time we saw each other. I just want to make things right. Maybe tell him I like him. Officially. _Maybe_.

Even though I clearly said _no_, Mr Tucker takes off running to the car, that's about 100ft away. Not that I fucking care. If he wins, he wins. Doesn't matter.

…

He's getting closer.

…

He's about 40ft away.

…

I'm starting to damn twitch.

…

That's _it_.

I throw my bag (full of Ruby's teddies) on the ground and start sprinting towards the car as fast as I can. I'll show him. I can totally beat anyone in a running race, even _if _I'm from a nut house. I'm like… what's that superhero's name? The Flash? Yeah, that. I'm like The _Flash_.

I soon run past him. The poor dude. He's getting old. I turn as I run, just to see his expression. When I see his look of horror, a big smile spreads across my face, for the first time in weeks.

"TWEEK! LOOK OUT!" Mr Tucker yells. I look back around in confusion. I immediately notice I'm only about 5ft from the car. I try to stop, but my feet slide in the stupid snow, sending me face first into the window. I think I just broke my damn nose. I shakily put my hands on the window and push myself away from the car, and then rub my face. Serves me right for being childish. Something like racing to a car doesn't matter, like I said. Just after I pull away, I hear something in the distance. I turn around and realise it's Mr Tucker ROFLing.

Literally.

He's _literally _rolling on the floor laughing. At his son faceplanting into a car window. Nice. I glare as I walk towards him. He sees me coming and, once he notices my angered face, immediately stops laughing. As I get closer, he rubs the back of his head and smiles sheepishly.

"Sorry, Tweek. But you've got to admit that was really funny. You _faceplanted_!" I ignore him, walk to my bag swiftly, and pick it up. I instantly realise most of the stuffed toys inside are soaking wet from the snow. I slowly turn around and start walking back to the car. Mr Tucker notices me shaking in anger.

"What's wrong?"

**"They're wet." **Mr Tucker takes a while to understand I'm talking about the teddies. Typical. Once he does, his expression turns to one of guilt and regret. I've never really seen an adult with an expression like that. Maybe Mr Tucker's different. Or maybe I've just not been fortunate enough to meet a kind adult until now. Probably the second answer.

"Look, Tweek, I'm sorry-

**"Let's just go." **I say flatly, not caring about my dark mood, and childishly stomp to the car.

Honestly…

* * *

><p>After about five minutes into the journey, Mr Tucker finally speaks, after spending an eternity glancing at me every few seconds. Good thing too. The glancing was really getting on my nerves. I doubt he would want me even more angry than I already am. No one would.<p>

"There's something wrong with you, Tweek. You definitely don't act like you used to, before the gunshot incident." I scowl at Mr Tucker for a second, then sigh, finally giving up the hard and dark personality. I might as well _try _to be nice. At least for a second.

"I'm sorry. I've been such an ass lately. Forgive me."

"Is it because you havent seen anybody in so long?"

"…"

"I see." He doesn't give me a reason why, so I guess I'll have to ask.

"Why couldn't they come and see me?" Mr Tucker stares straight ahead at the road.

"Who?"

"You _know _who! Ruby and Craig." I see Mr Tucker stiffen, which is a bad sign.

"Ruby's not well enough to see you right now, Tweek. She keeps _asking _to, but she's just not in the condition to go anywhere other than her room."

"Is… Is she alright?"

"… We actually don't know yet. We took her to the doctor the other day, but he's so stupid he wasn't even able to tell what she had. We're going to take her to the hospital you've just been in the day after tomorrow."

"Is she really _really _sick?"

"She can't see you, Tweek. That much I'm sure of." Mr Tucker snaps sternly. "She can barely even _walk_. Every time she tries, she takes a few steps and falls. Craig has to help her everywhere."

"Speaking of Craig, why can't _he _come?" I ask, while making sure to keep my eyes on the window. I really don't want to see Mr Tucker's face when I ask somehting like that. Anything really involving Craig and I makes him annoyed. I'm sure Craig knows that as well as I do, by now. I hear him sigh, as expected.

"Tweek, it's not that he doesn't _want _to see you. It's just that he … well he sort of _can't_."

"What the hell do you mean he _can't_? The Craig that I know would come to see me no matter what. Have you forgotten the escape incident?"

"No, I remember that." Mr Tucker replies, smiling slightly as he thinks about it. "But, like I said, he seriously can't."

"Why?"

"Tweek, just drop it. You're starting to act childish."

"Just tell me! I have the right to know! He's my… brother!" I can tell I struck a nerve.

"…"

"…"

"…Tweek, something happened at his school. There was an incident."

"What was it?"

"…"

"Tell me!"

"I can only say this. It involved Craig and Eric Cartman. They've both been expelled because of it."

"…So Craig's been grounded by you? Is that why he can't come?"

"Partly." I look at Mr Tucker, waiting for a reason. He keeps glancing at me, and flinching when he realises I've still got my eyes on him. Eventually he talks.

"He… won't talk to anyone. He just won't. He hasn't said a word since the incident. Not even to Ruby."

"Then how the hell do you know he wants to see me?"

"I saw him looking at his phone. I snatched it away and saw a photo of you. I think thats pretty convincing."

"…"

"He loves you, you know." I jump. Oh crap. Here we go.

"No, he doesn't." I state. I see, out of the corner of my eye, Mr Tucker frown.

"He does. I heard him tell Ruby. The day before you woke up in hospital."

"… He _doesn't_. He's just confused. I know he's straight as an arrow. It's a childish crush. It's not real."

"You _are_ children."

"Do you honestly think I have the personality of a child? I tried to kill myself with _safety_ scissors for God's sake." Mr Tucker stays ssilent for a long time.

"… Did you know, Tweek, that ever since he's met you, he's been so much happier? He almost never stops talking about you. Even his friends, who've never met you, like you as well. And so does Eric Cartman's group. They're all so fascinated by you."

"I know that. But… like I said, he's just confused. He thinks he likes me, but-

"**Tweek**." Mr Tucker says my name so coldly and firmly, that I immediately shut the fuck up and turn to him. He glares at me with the infamous Tucker glare, so long that he forgets about the road. I feel the car starting to swerve to the side.

"THE ROAD YOU MOTHER FUCKING RETARD!" I scream, pointing in front of us frantically. Mr Tucker shrieks and quickly pulls over. The tyres make a loud screech as we slide off the road, causing both of us to flinch from the pitch. Mr Tucker sighs in relief as the car finally stops moving, and then resumes glaring at me. I glare back this time. Perhaps I've inherited the glare, now that I'm 'part' of the family. I think I haven't. After about thirty seconds, I waver and finally speak.

"W-What's with the glaring? I just don't agree with you about Craig liking me romatically. There's no need to go insane…" I trail off for a few seconds at the mention of the word. "…There's no need to get angry about it." Mr Tucker lets out a huge sigh (for the millionth, literally _millionth_ time today) and rubs his forehead. Maybe because he can't face the fact that a crazy kid likes his son. Or maybe he's worried about his kids, and the situations they're in. Or maybe he's purely worried about _me_. Well, for whatever the reason, he sure as hell isn't _happy_.

"Tweek… Craig and that kid, Eric Cartman… put a kid at their school in the hospital. That's why they were both expelled. Not suspended. _Expelled_." I stare at my adoptive father with wide eyes. Craig… did that? That's crazy. I know Craig's a bad kid (I just _can't_ picture him paying attention in a classroom), not to mention Cartman, but I never thought they could do something like _that_.

"Wh…Why did they do it?"

"I don't know. Eric and Craig both refused to tell us. Ruby knows, since she's the only one Craig told. She was the last person he talked to before he went silent. I asked her about it. She also refused to tell me. Everything except one thing."

"And what's that?"

"It… had something to do with you. That's all I know. Nothing else."

* * *

><p>Later that day, after lunch, and <em>huge <em>greetings from everyone who hadn't seen me in a while, I take advantage of my keys and go to Mr Tucker's office. I _know _no one's gonna be there, but I have a feeling I have to go. Mr Tucker will be with another patient this time of day, since lots of kids go with appointments with their psychologists right after lunch, to finally get them over with. I'm not unique. _No_ _one_ likes appointments.

As I open the door, out of nowhere, I get tackled by something. Deja vu…

"YAY! TWEEK'S HERE!" I shove the person off me in fear. They topple to the floor giggling, quickly standing up again. I'm shocked to see _Ruby_. She's smiling and swaying happily, just like four year olds are supposed to. Though, I do notice, she looks pretty pale, her nose is running, and she can't balance herself. She's also sweating a lot. I quickly grab her shoulders to prevent her from falling. She giggles.

"Oops. Ruby lost balance." She smiles sheepishly and starts to chatter about stuff that's happened. I look her up and down shakily.

"Aren't you supposed to be home, in bed?" She stiffens and closes her mouth, setting her lips in a thin line. It's amazing how she can change her moods and emotions in a _split_ second.

"Ruby wanted to see Tweek really badly. Between you and Ruby, Daddy doesn't know Ruby's here."

"Ruby, you need to go home. You're sick."

"Ruby's not THAT sick. She just has a _cold_. Besides, Ruby wanted to see you. Its been so long. Craig wanted to as well. Say hi Craig!"

"What do you mean? He's not here." She starts laughing loudly. Ok, I'm starting to think maybe she belongs here.

"Yes he is! He's there." Ruby points to the counter, where Craig taught me how to make coffee the first time we met. I slowly walk over there and look behind it. I gasp when I see Craig sitting on the floor, with his head in his arms. I remember my conversation with Mr Tucker earlier.

_"He_…_ won't talk to anyone. He just won't. He hasn't said a word since the incident. Not even to Ruby."_

"So he won't talk to anyone?" Ruby gasps from behind me. I half-turn to her.

"Wh-Who told Tweek that?"

"Your dad did. So I guess it's true." I say, keeping my eyes on Craig.

**"There's nothing wrong with Craig, Tweek."** I fully turn and stare at Ruby from the sound of her voice. She's giving me one of the Tucker death glares. Second time today.

"Of course there isn't. But, I still think he needs help-

**"CRAIG DOESN'T NEED HELP! I **_**SAY **_**SO!" **My mouth drops open at Ruby not speaking in third person. It just sounds wrong. She's… like me. She has a freaky dark side that even changes the way she _speaks_.

"A-Alright. I'll try to reason with him." I smile nervously and slowly sit next to Craig.

"Hey. Hey, Craig." I shake his shoulder gently. He doesn't respond. My heart sinks at the fact. I give a small sigh and relax myself. I can take my time with this.

"Never mind. It doesn't matter if you don't talk. You're here, and that's all that matters." Craig finally sits up, though he just looks straight ahead. Ruby stares, mouth wide open. "Hey, when I get released from here, I'm gonna go all over the world, and make the most of my life. No more wimpy, shaky Tweek, who gives up over everything and doesn't trust anyone." I grin happily. Ruby finally smiles and spreads her arms out.

"Yeah! Ruby and Tweek are gonna go all over the world! And go one big roller coasters and feed elephants! Craig can come too! And Stan and Kyle! And Cartman! And Kenny! And Clyde! _And _Token!" I smile weakly as I watch Ruby list literally everyone she knows. That she can _remember, _anyway. A few minutes later, we both hear sniffling. Ruby immediately stops talking in mid-sentence. I turn my head next to me. Just as I thought. Craig's crying.

The… The apocalypse is near.

"Hey! Hey Craig! W-What's wrong?" I ask worriedly. What the hell? Ruby and I are meant to be cheering him up, not making him start _crying_. Really silent and barely noticable crying, but still fucking _crying_. I'm about to comfort him, but then I get the biggest fright of my goddamn life.

… Except for when that gunshot scared me so much I fell over.

"GUESS _WHO_~"

"GAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I push the hands (over my eyes) away, quickly stand up and turn around, wanting to see who did it.

… Stupid Kenny's sitting on the countertop smirking. I notice Stan and Kyle in the standing in the doorway giggling. Cartman's greeting Ruby, who's giving him an identical radiant smile to Craig's. Must run in the family. Like the glare.

"Kenny… what the fuck is _wrong _with you?" Kenny blinks, looking confused.

"Never thought _you _were the type to be pissed when you get scared."

"In case you haven't noticed, Craig's crying." Kenny frowns and looks behind my shoulder. He snorts and looks back at me.

"He's fine. Just a little breakdown. Don't worry so much. That's how he is. What he does, right, is he keeps everything bottled up, and at the end of the month, he goes somewhere private and lets it all out. This time he just couldn't hold it in long enough." I glower.

"What makes you so sure? Are… Are you a _stalker_?" All the boys laugh except Craig.

"Dude, Kenny's special. He knows _everything_. Everyone knows that." Stan grins. Wow, he can be good looking when he wants to be _too_. Despite what he just said answered my question, I'm slightly angry that he used the word I hate most. _Special._

"What're you all doing here?"

"We're having a meeting later."

"What?"

"A meeting. All of us boys are having a meeting. Clyde and Token are coming later. The rest of the boys in the class are coming too."

"Why are you having a meeting _here_? A mental institution!" They all laugh again. Ruby joins in this time. Craig even looks at me.

"'Cause it's about _you_, dummy!"

"About _me_?"

"Yeah. I told you. We're getting you out of here." Kyle says.

"I'm _not _attempting an escape again." Seriously, I'm starting to get creeped out by the laughing.

"Don't worry. We found something that'll prove your innocence. We wanna show it to everyone."

"W-Why'd you need to invite so many people?"

"'Cause we all wanna free you. You're one of us! The boys in our class are like bros. We work together with everything. Stan, Kyle, Cartman and I just happen to be a little~ bit more independant."

"… So when is it?"

"8.00pm."

"How're you guys gonna stay that late?"

"We're staying over. You know. Where doctors sleep. There's heaps of rooms, right?"

"But what about all your parents?"

"They don't care. We're always away doing God knows what. They've gotten used to it."

"… Well then, _where _is it? The meeting?"

"Secret." Kenny grins and puts a finger to his lips.

"But it's somewhere in the building, _right_?" I catch the five of them exchanging glances. None of them look sure what to say. Kenny eventually speaks again.

"You could say that."

* * *

><p>So I'm sitting in class, minding my own business, tuning out some teacher droning on and on, whispering to Bradley (they've decided to join all the classes now, in a bigger room) every few seconds, when Stan, Kyle, Cartman and Kenny come strolling in, like they're freaking <em>royalty<em>. They all climb over a bunch of desks and jump in between Thomas, Bradley and I, giggling. I redden and give them all an angry look for making everyone stare, including the teacher.

"Uh… who are you?" The teacher asks awkwardly, in the middle of writing something on the board. Kenny takes off his hood, making some girls (we have female patients here on the opposite side of the hospital) squeal.

"The name's Kenny. Kenny McCormick. These are the dudes, Kyle Broflovski, Stan Marsh, and Eric Cartman." I quickly realise Kenny's not talking to the teacher. He's talking to the patients. "Now I hear you guys haven't been very nice to my buddy Tweek here," Kenny puts his arm around me and roughly pulls me towards him. "And that's unacceptable."

Kenny's talking about when the patients all said they hate me. Cartman must've told him about it. Jesus Christ, way to make a big deal of it. Cartman probably exaggerated. Besides, Bradley and I are getting along now. I don't give a flying fuck what the others think of me. Not anymore.

"Seriously, you kids need to leav-

Kyle shoots the teacher a venemous glare, making him wince and reluctantly step back. I hear Cartman give a barely audible snicker. Kenny continues speaking. His tone is confident, but slightly more threatening than I _usually _hear.

"So if you all don't shape up and start worshiping him like he's meant to be, then I will personally grab a butcher knife, cut all your limbs of, one by one, wait for you to bleed to death while hammering nails on every square inch of your body, and then gauge your eyes out. And I'll prabably burn the remains and sprinkle it on your families at night. Any questions?" I let out a small, nervous laugh, hoping everyone won't hate me _more _now. I know I said I don't give a flying fuck anymore, but still… I don't want death threats. Everyone quickly shakes their head at Kenny's last question. The girls just stare, a few whispering to their friends.

"That's great. Now we can enjoy the lesson in peace." Kenny retrieves his happy, high, bouncy voice. Now everything's fine. Wait, _what_?

"You… You guys are staying…" It's meant to come out as a question, but it ends up sounding like an unhappy statement, with the tone that sounded like I _really_ don't want them to stay. I silently hope they'll all be dumb enough to think it's a question anyway. They are. Oh wait, Kenny's not. He narrows his eyes and grabs the back of my shirt, pulling me under the desk.

"Why don't you want us to stay? Be honest. You scared of us or somethin'?" He whispers, glowering.

"No, I'm not. You guys just… make people uncomfortable."

"How?" Man, he looks so puzzled.

"You're from the outside. Not to mention you just gave everyone _death _threats."

"I'm sorry, the _outside_?" Oh yeah. I had this same problem with Craig.

"It's like… like the word we use to describe… outside this institution. Patients who've been here so long eventually think like anywhere outside here is an alien planet."

"So because we're from the 'outside' everyone hates us?"

"I wouldn't say _that_. They just don't trust you."

"So if we were patients here, they'd trust us?"

"Yes but - Whatever you're thinking Kenny, don't do it." Kenny flashes me a smile and quickly makes a move to stand up. I'm trying to warn him, but it's too late. His head crashes really hard on the bottom of the desk. He curses and stands up properly. I sigh and get out from under the desk as well. I immediately see Kenny talking to his … his 'gang'.

"Alright, GO!" They all start unbuttoning their shirts. Thomas and Bradley both lean away from the four of them. They've got… oh thank you Jesus. They've got shirts underneath. Man, they look _familiar_. Wait, holy shit. Kenny, you…

"OK! NOW WE'RE PATIENTS HERE! LET'S ENJOY THE LESSON!"

… bastard.

They're wearing the fucking patient uniforms. They even have numbers on them. (on every uniform there's a set of black numbers. My number's 0242)

"Kenny, where the hell did you _get _those?"

"The store room you silly!" Kenny laughs, along with the other three guys.

Now I know what Craig meant. They're _trouble_. All four of 'em.

* * *

><p>As we're all leaving the room, Kenny stops me, gesturing for his friends to go on ahead. They nod and leave, shoving each other playfully. Kenny's trying to push away a bunch of girls that… I swear that they have hearts in their eyes. When he's finally got them off him, and everyone's left, he finally looks at me, smirking knowingly.<p>

"What now, Kenny?" I ask tiredly, watching the nurses guide all the kids away. I'm really not in the mood for his shit, after all that's happened today.

"I thought you would need this." He produces a credit card in his hand out of nowhere. How'd he _do_ that?

"What for?"

"You'll know when the time comes." Kenny laughs and tosses it at me. I quickly catch it.

"I'll see you later, Tweek." Kenny gives me a quick wave and runs off towards the elevator. I stare at the card for a second, then shake my head and put it in my pocket. If Kenny says so, then I should definitely need it. He's like Ruby, that dude. He's practically telepathic. Maybe he actually _is_.

I might as well go back to the cell room. I need to relax. Too much has gone on today, and I seriously doubt my brain can handle it. I guess I'll take the long way, just because. I put a hand on my forehead and start walking. As I turn into a hallway, I hear yelling. I frown and walk to the edge of the hallway, peeking around the corner of it. Crap, it's the Tuckers. I quickly turn back around, hiding. New equation.

Tuckers + fighting = PURE TROUBLE.

"What the hell are you doing here? You're meant to be in bed! Look at yourself, you can barely even stand!" I immediately understand Mr Tucker's yelling at Ruby.

"Craig couldn't come alone! He needed me!" Ruby says defensively, pointing to herself.

"How would he need you, Ruby? He's almost eleven! He's perfectly capable of taking care of himself." Ruby stays silent, as well as, of course, Craig.

"And _you_, Craig! You could've told me she was here, talking or not! It isn't that hard to point at her! What am I going to do with you two? Tweek's never like this. He's well behaved!" Yeah, right. I stare at the white tiles on the ground, suddenly feeling overwhelmed with guilt. I cause this family too many problems. If I didn't exist, they'd be fine… they'd be _fine_…

**"We would _not_ be fine." **My head snaps up and my eyes grow wide.** "We would not be fine at all. We would be _unhappy_ like before."** I shakily turn and step around the corner, revealing myself to my 'family'. Ruby's looking right at me. She's been the one speaking. **"Craig would still be lonely and emotionless. Father would still be away for most days. Mother would still fight with him. I would still cry often."** She's… she _has _to be fucking reading my mind or something. I stare back into her eyes, quivering. It's like… she's looking into my damn _soul_ or something. Mr Tucker and Craig are both frozen, staring at her with wide eyes just like I am. Ruby starts walking towards me. After three steps, she stumbles and almost falls, due to her sickness. Both Craig and I lean forward and are about to run and help her, but she quickly recovers and stands up straight. She lifts her head up and looks straight at me again. I wince. She keeps stepping slowly until she's right in front of me. She holds out her hand, obviously wanting me to take it. I shake my head and step back, silently telling her I'm too scared. She narrows her eyes and leans forward. She seriously wants me to take it. We look at each other for about fifteen seconds. Craig and Mr Tucker both watch us intently. I eventually give her a small nod and lift my arm up. I hesitate, but then take her hand. It's like… like a jolt of freaking electricity running through me.

I seriously stop seeing Ruby in front of me. I instead see Craig standing outside with two boys. I think they're Clyde and Token. They're all pointing and laughing at Stan, Kyle, Kenny, and Cartman, who are sitting/kneeling on the ground, covered in dirt, rubbing their heads (looking pretty dazed). They're most likely all injured from one of their 'adventures'.

"Can't they just be normal?" Token asks, in a rhetorical question.

"What idiots. They need serious help." Clyde remarks, smirking. I helplessly watch Craig look at the four coldly.

"Nothing could help these pathetic excuses of human beings. Let's just go." He says, before turning and walking away. Clyde and Token quickly exchange glances, then follow him, leaving the famous four glaring. Cartman stands up, brushes the snow off his knees and gives the finger.

"FUCK YOU ALL! WE'LL SHOW YOU ONE DAY!" Craig, Token, and Clyde stop and half-turn around.

"Oh yeah? What'll you do?"

"I'LL BET YOU RIGHT NOW! I'M BADASS ENOUGH TO GET MYSELF INTO A _MENTAL_ INSTITUTION!" Stan and Kyle look at each other worriedly. Kenny smiles knowingly, as if he can tell what's going to happen. He probably can.

"Right, right. Tell you what. Let's bet ten dollars. If you somehow get yourself into an institute, I'll pay you that amount. If you don't do it in a week, you pay _me _that amount. Deal?"

"HELLZ YEAH!" Craig nods and continues walking with Clyde and Token. I flinch as he walks past me. I feel no senses. I don't even have to breath. I'm basically a hollogram.

When he \brushes against my shoulder, he shivers and looks at me. He obviously can't see me, but he somehow gets scared and runs away nonetheless.

"Whoa dude! What's wrong?" Clyde yells, running after him, along with Token.

I turn around and watch the other four. Kyle's telling Cartman off for something. Stan's trying to shake the snow off of his hat. They must've landed harshly on the ground or something. Kenny's still sittinng in the snow, looking straight at me understandingly, nodding his head. He can't possibly see me.

He swiftly stands up and gives me a big wave. "HEY TWEEK!" He shouts loudly, making sure probably the whole town can hear. Ok, he can see me. But that's wierd. How does he know me? This _has _to be in the past, so he hasn't even met me yet. But wait…

_"Dude, Kenny's special. He knows _everything_. Everyone knows that."_

Stan was sure as hell _right _about that. Damn.

Kenny's three companions stare at him like an alien.

"You saw someone, Kenny?" Kyle asks, looking at the space where 'I' am.

"Yup."

"Who?"

"No rush, no rush. You'll meet them soon. A week and a few days to be exact."

"Thank you, Kenny." I say suddenly in front of him. Kenny gives me one of his killer smiles.

"Your welcome. I look forward to officially meeting you." Everything disappears.

…

I'm no longer in the snow. I'm in the kitchen of a house. I spot Ruby sitting on a counter crying, and Mrs Tucker yelling at someone on the phone. I can guess who it is.

"NO, YOU LISTEN TO _ME_! I'M SICK OF YOU NEVER BEING HOME! IT'S TAKING A GODDAMN TOLL ON THE KIDS AND I WANT YOU TO DAMN **_DO_ **SOMETHING ABOUT IT!"

…

"I DON'T _CARE_ THAT YOU CAN'T CHANGE YOUR SHIFTS! QUIT YOUR FREAKING JOB IF YOU HAVE TO! EITHER WAY, YOU'RE GOING TO BE HOME MORE OFTEN, LIKE IT OR NOT! GOODBYE!" She slams the phone down, puffing. I hear footsteps and glance at the doorway. It's Craig, looking annoyed. He walks _through_ me this time.

"GAH!" He shrieks, running to the counter and turning around. The noise makes Ruby jump and Mrs Tucker drop a plate that she's washing.

"CRAIG TUCKER! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU? YOU MADE ME DROP A FUCKING PLATE!" Ok, I can see why Mr Tucker's scared of this lady.

"I SWEAR TO GOD, SOMETHING'S WATCHING ME! IT'S RIGHT THERE!" Craig points to where I'm standing, trembling. I smile sadly. I wish he could understand. It hurts me to see him so scared, to not know it's _me_ standing here. Ruby gets up and casually strolls towards me. She stops in front of me, looks up, and smiles.

"RUBY, GET AWAY FROM THERE!" Ruby ignores him and reaches out her hand.

**"It's time to go, Tweek."** She says. Oh, I get it. She wants me to return to my real time.

"WHAT THE HELL, RUBY? WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING TO?" Craigs shouts.

"Your **special** person." She replies to him, keeping her eyes on me and smiling knowingly. She probably knows the future just like Kenny.

"Special wha… " Craig trails away as Ruby takes my hand. Wow. I, a hollogram, can actually feel a human being.

Everything fades away. I suddenly feel human again… and still like I'm being electrocuted. I quickly get a hold of myself and shove Ruby away. She crashes to the floor, panting. So do I. That… literally took out all our energy. I feel myself. Am I seriously human again? I _should _be…

I shakily put a hand to my forehead, just as Craig gets to me. He kneels down and puts his arms around my shoulders, making sure I don't collapse on the floor. Dear Lord. My dreams have come true. He's actually _touching _me again.

I guess I'll tell him then. Before I lose consciousness from exhaustion.

"Craig, I gotta tell you something." He looks at me both sympathetically and questionably.

"You… You know that time when you made that bet with Cartman? And the time when Ruby was talking to something in your kitchen?" Craig hesitates, but then nods. "And you know how you always felt like someone was watching you, and you felt cold everytime you walked past it?" He nods again, looking extremely confused.

"Well… that was me. I was standing there watching you." Craig's eyes widen, and his jaw drops open. I smile. "I would've had the same reaction."

Then, God chooses the perfect moment to make me pass out.

* * *

><p>I wake up in a <em>way <em>comfier bed than in my cell, so I immediately know I'm not in the cell room. I sit up and rub my chest. It's still pretty sore from the gunshot. I look around. Well, the bed's pretty big. And I can see there's a bathroom some feet away from me. There's even a closet. I must be in one of those many rooms doctors sleep in. I hear movment beside me and I quickly turn the opposite way I'm looking.

… Kenny's leaning back in a chair smirking at me. Jeez, he does that smirking thing a lot. No wonder girls like him. Not that I care. I'm not exactly playing for that team.

"What… are you doing here, Kenny?" I facepalm.

"Is it so wrong to visit my best buddy when he collapsed in a hallway?"

"Not unless there's a reason." Kenny feigns a look of hurt. I glare. I'm _seriously_ not in the mood for his shit right now. I know I've said that already, but now I'm _really_ not. Like, life-threatening really. He finally wavers.

"Alright. I wanted to check something."

"What?" Kenny's face suddenly turns serious.

"You saw it, didn't you? Craig and his friends making fun of us and Cartman & Craig making that bet. I spoke to you."

"… Yes, I saw it."

"Well that's good. Just tell me, why did Ruby do that to you?" He asks like it's a quiz question, not out of curiousity.

"To prove a point. She wanted to make sure I knew how much… how much I've 'helped' her family." Kenny nods, as if I've answered his 'question' right.

"Then I'll be going. Stan's probably having a hard time separating Kyle and Cartman. They seriously get physical when they fight." Kenny gets up and brushes himself off. He was eating a cake or something. I can see the crumbs on the floor. Great, I'll probably get blamed for it.

Just as Kenny's at the door, I remember.

"WAIT!" Kenny pauses and half-turns to me, looking irritated.

"What is it? Stan's really struggling, so I need to hurry."

"That's what I want to ask about."

"What? Stan struggling to separate the fatass and Kyle?"

"No! You knowing stuff like that. How do you know?"

"I _saw_ it."

"But how?"

"Look dude. God gives random people gifts like that. Ruby and I just happened to be two of them."

"So I could ask you a question, and it would always be right?"

"If I told you the truth, then yeah."

"Then tell me… how will this all work out? Will you guys really get me out of here?" Kenny nods.

"Yup. Everything will turn out perfect."

"Like hell it will."

"Oh, so now you don't _believe _me?"

"How do I know you're not lying like you said?" Kenny sighs and quickly strides up to me.

"Get ready."

"WHA-

He grabs my hand without warning and sends me into that same dream world, where I'm just a hologram. I see the entrance to a school, and many kids standing, staring at something. Lots of girls are screaming like fangirls.

Right in front of me, I see Stan, Kyle, Kenny, Cartman, Clyde, Token, Craig and _me_ walking up to the entrance. I'm in freaking _normal_ clothes. Craig's… Craig's holding my hand.

…

Ok, Kenny's right. Everything should turn out fine. I stiffen when the future me suddenly stops walking. It says something like for the others to go ahead, then turns around and looks straight at me. When it sees me, it smiles. I swear to good, that smile makes everything glow. It's just so happy.

It then says something I can't hear. It must be something good. It… no… _I_ can definitely see me. 'I' then turn and run to catch up with Craig.

Next thing I know, I'm sitting in a bed holding Kenny's hand. He lets go of me and stands up. He doesn't look tired at all, unlike Ruby. Maybe he's mentally/physically stronger or something.

"_Now _do you believe me?" I quickly nod.

"…I have a question though."

"What _now_?"

"What did the future me say to me when he turned around and saw me?" Kenny smiles.

"You'll know soon. You'll say it yourself."

"Do… you ever get sick of knowing everything? Do you ever curse God for giving you all the stress?"

"Never. I have no right. I didn't create this world. I just happen to live in it."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Seriously, I think this is one of the last chappies. But still…**

**REVIEW!**


	11. Chapter 11

It's sort of scary when you've _just_ finished taking a shower and are right in the middle of getting Goddamn _dressed_ when some brunette dude pops out of fucking nowhere and hugs you around the shoulders like you're the best buddies in the world, when you've never even met him. Not officially, anyway.

"How's my best buddy doing?" He grins and ruffles my hair. Ok, was _not_ ready for that. I'm like a person with boundary issues. I wanna yell at him 'FORCE FIELD! FORCE FIELD!' while backing away frantically.

"Y-You're… Clyde." I remark, carefully trying to shake him off of me without him noticing. I don't really wanna offend him. He freezes and looks at me for a split second, and then absolutely _flips out._

"OH MY GOD! HE KNOWS MY FUCKING _NAME_!" He finally lets go of me and gets to the ground. It seriously takes me approximately seven seconds to realise he's bowing to me. What am I, a king?

No. No, I don't think so.

"Um, you can… get up now." I say awkwardly. I've never thought, even once in my life, that anyone would ever bow to me. Clyde nods and stands up again. He smirks when he sees that I'm still shirtless. I flush and frown at the wall. I don't like to feel vulnerable. Well, then again, who _does?_

"So how do you know my name? I didn't expect you to get who I was. I actually _failed_ in scaring you. Clyde Donovan does not _ever_ fail in scaring people."

"Craig told me about you."

"Ha, typical Craig Tucker! So I bet you're shocked that he's not talking, right?" I glare slightly more at the wall and nod. I seriously don't want to be reminded of that. Though I love to talk about Craig, the thought of him purposely not talking to me makes me want to jump off this building right now. Clyde watches me in interest for a few seconds, then suddenly grabs my hand and starts pulling me into the hallway.

"W-WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU _DOING?_" Clyde doesn't answer me. He looks around for staff, and once he sees there aren't any, runs in the direction of the centre of the hospital, heaving me along with him by the arm. My still wet hair drips on the tiled floor as we run (Well, Clyde does. I'm like a gift package). I hope a nurse slips on that later. I look behind me to see if we've been spotted by some doctor. Wow, we haven't. As I turn my head back around, both Clyde and I are met with a hand in the 'STOP RIGHT THERE!' motion. Clyde yelps loudly and falls back, resulting in _me_ falling back too. We both go CRASHING to the floor. Which is, by the way, tiled. I grit my teeth angrily and shove him off me. I look upwards and see Kenny standing over us, arms folded, smirking, you name it. Anything cool, he's doing it. Making _us_ look like dumbasses.

I hold my open hand out.

"Are you gonna stand there like Satan, or are you gonna help me up like a person?" Kenny's smirk disappears. I clearly just ruined his fun moment, and I'm glad. He needs to be annoyed once in a while. He purses his lips angrily, takes my hand, and pulls me off the floor. He never stops keeping eye contact with me.

"Don't push it." Kenny says, looking _extremely_ annoyed. Man, he has a really short temper.

"_Ahem_."

Oops, I've forgotten about Clyde. I turn around to see if he's actually still there. Sure enough, he is. I immediately let my kind side take over me. I'm a softie, so live with it.

"I'm sorry. Here." I hold my hand out. Clyde hesitates, like I'm freaking _delicate_ or something. I smile a bit and hold my hand out more. Clyde finally gets over his little 'fear' and lets me help him up. I turn to Kenny, who's been watching the whole time, with an expression of surprise. What, does Kenny think it's not possible for me to be kind or something? I let go of Clyde and frown at him.

"What is it?" I ask him. Kenny realises what he looks like, shakes his head, and gives a reassuring smile.

"Nothing, man."

"…Where are you guys taking me?" I ask, looking back and forth between them.

"The meeting, dummy!" Kenny slaps me on the back, making me cough. However, I quickly take his answer in.

Oh yeah… the meeting. Totally forgot about that.

Kenny speaks again.

"Look, I needed to stop you for something-

"Why _else_ would you halt us so suddenly, resulting in us both tumbling to the floor? Which is by the way, tiled! It's really hard!" Kenny's eyebrow twitches.

"You gonna let me finish or _what_? I don't have to fucking be here! I can be home fighting with my dad, but I chose _not_ to!"

"…"

"Good doggy. Now look, I needed to stop you for a pretty vital reason."

"And what's that?"

"The tracking device on your shirt. The security will notice you're out of that room. Luckily, _I_ know the code." God. I mean come on! This dude's meant to be _smart_. I'm telling you, if he's smart, then the others must be like brain damaged or something.

"Kenny… in case you haven't noticed, which you probably haven't… I'm not _wearing_ my shirt." Kenny's eyes widen and he looks at my bare chest.

"Well, son of a _bitch_. You aren't." He says, looking quite taken aback. I feel like banging my head on the wall. Clyde starts waving his hand dramatically.

"Whoa, whoa, WHOA! So you're saying you stopped Tweek and I and made us fall to the ground, and wasted all this time, for _that_ reason?" Kenny smiles sheepishly, giving him the answer.

Fuck it. I _will_ bang my head on the wall.

I walk to the side of the hall, lay my hands against the… whatever walls are made of, and bang my head on it as hard as I can. I hear Clyde go 'Holy crap!' Haha… he'll have to get used to how fucked up I can be.

In a… I swear to God a split second; Kenny comes over to me and grabs my shoulder to prevent me from damaging my forehead any further. When I fix my eyes on him, I realise he looks extremely, _extremely_, irritated. He says something, but my ears somehow don't process it.

"W-What?"

"I _said_; don't ever do something like that again. Even if you're joking."

"Why… does it matter so much?" I ask, feeling slightly nervous. Kenny stares me out for a few seconds, and then suddenly smiles.

"We wouldn't want Craig to murder us for letting you get injured, now would we?" Whoa. Split personality much? He's like one of those people who are sweet on the outside, but cold on the inside… uh, what are they called? Uh…

…

Oh yeah! Yandere… Kenny's a y_andere_. Poor soul.

"O~kay~… Now let's hurry and go! Everyone's probably getting impatient." Clyde says randomly.

"Go wher-

Kenny and Clyde interrupt my sentence by grabbing both my hands and pulling me along with them, much like Clyde was doing earlier. We pass Mr Tucker's office. The door's open, so I catch a glimpse of him sleeping at the desk inside. It makes me smile.

My smile fades when I see where we're heading. We stop outside a door that's exactly at the centre of the hospital. It says 'STAFF ONLY' on it. There's a black kid holding it open. If I'm not mistaken, he's Token. When he hears us coming, and sees me, his face is exactly the same as Cyde's was. Like he's seen God or something. Kenny and Clyde force me through the door and start pushing me up the first flight of stairs. Token closes the door and quickly follows, darting next to us in an instant, no doubt to get a better _look_ at me. All four of us start to get tired after three flights of stairs. Well, Kenny doesn't. He looks back at us.

"Come on! Only one more to go! Everyone's waiting! Let's go!" Kenny gives me a pat on the shoulder for encouragement. I instantly feel energised and start sprinting up the steps, beating even Kenny. What the hell did he do to me? I look back to see if the three are still there, turn back around; and slam right into a door. Face first. You'd think I'd learn, what with that experience with Mr Tucker and that damn car window. The slamming force makes me fall back. Clyde and Token catch me, while Kenny walks around us and towards the door. He knocks three times, waits a little, then twice more. Some secret knock or something. I barely hear a muffled voice say to him 'Name?'

"Kenneth McCormick." Kenny says, using his full name. The person on the other side says 'Password?'. Kenny turns to us with a look of annoyed helplessness. Judging by the look, he's forgotten the password. You'd think with his gift and all…

"Uh… aw come on, man. You know my voice."

"No can do. I have strict orders-

"I'M THE ONE WHO _GAVE_ YOU THE ORDERS, RETARD!"

"But-

"Jason, I swear to _God_…"

"Okay, okay! Jesus…" The door opens, showing a pretty normal looking brunette dude looking pissed. Kenny gives him a 'You dare fuck with me?' look and walks past him, motioning for me to follow. I nod, feeling confused, and step up to him.

… Now I see what Kenny meant by 'You could say that' when I asked the location of the meeting place.

The hospital roof. Yup. The hospital roof.

There's all the kids in the photo of the class I saw here, and many more. They're probably kids from other classes. There're even some girls. Not Milly, thank God.

I realise I have no shirt and blush. All the girls realise too and scream in delight. What, am I actually _good looking_ or something? The boys who don't know me don't even notice. They're probably too mesmerised by the fact that I'm actually here. The boys who _do_ know me though, like Stan and Kyle, drop their jaws open. Naturally.

… This is embarrassing.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! FUNNIEST! THING! EVER!" Kenny laughs next to me, pointing to the left of us. I look to where he's looking. Oh Jeez.

Craig's on the ground, trembling. He's staring at me, and there's a lot of blood running down his hand, which is covering his nose.

Why…_Ohhhh_…

Man… I dunno whether to be happy or embarrassed about this.

"HAHAHA! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! _CRAIG FUCKING TUCKER _BLUSHED SO MUCH HE GOT A NOSEBLEED! NEVER THOUGHT I'D LIVE TO SEE THAT! HEHEHE!" Kenny… dude… no need to rub it in. I feel a hand on my shoulder. It's… _Cartman_?

"It seems Clyde was in such a _rush_…" He shoots Clyde a venomous look. "… That he pulled Tweek out of his room before he'd finished changing. Would anyone be kind enough to lend their jacket?"

Literally everyone starts unzipping/unbuttoning their jackets, and yelling stuff like 'ME, ME!' _Everyone_ except Craig and Kenny. Even Stan, Kyle, _and_ Cartman. Before long, a fight ensues, with almost like a ball of people fighting, like in cartoons. Even the girls are doing it. Kenny's trying to calm all of them down. And failing. I notice every few seconds, Craig inches about 1ft closer to me. I hate to say this, but for being such a dull, boring person, Craig _sucks_ at being sly. Eventually, he stops next to me. I notice he doesn't have his jacket on.

He doesn't say anything, obviously, but I can tell he wants to. I want to ask what… but I don't know how to say it. It'd seem mean if I went 'What do you want to say?' but I don't wanna sound corny or something by going like 'Did you want to tell me something?' Man, life can be hard.

I finally gather up all my courage and glance at him. I quickly snap my head back when I realise he's been frowning at me the whole time, like he's freaking expecting something. After a few more seconds, I glance at him again. Crap, he's still watching me.

I close my eyes and face him, smiling kindly.

"Hey Craig." I say, just like old times. I open my eyes and catch him stiffen. He looks surprised. Maybe he thought I was trying to ignore him.

…

I know! I'll hold his hand. That always made _me_ feel better when I was little. My Mom did it all the time.

I reach out and swiftly grab his hand, like it's completely normal. I hear him inhale. I smile at him again.

"Hey~ You should start talking again. It would make me very happy." He stares at me with shocked eyes, like he was waiting for something totally different. Craig then suddenly pulls his hand away and runs off. I sigh. Maybe he got too nervous or something. Though, that sounds _pretty_ Craig-like.

I avert my eyes to in front of me. God, everyone's _still_ fighting over the jacket thing. This is just stupid.

I hear frantic footsteps approaching me, and, before I know it, Craig's beside me.

"GAH!" I step away from him in fear. He seriously surprised me.

… He's got his jacket in one of his hands, and he's holding it out to me. I stare at it for a second, and then point at myself. He doesn't really give me an answer, and just looks at the night sky. But I can be smart. He wants me to have his jacket.

I smile nervously, take it from him, and put it on. I don't bother to button it. It's a little big, but I don't give a _fuck_. I wearing Craig's **jacket**. It's like one of my dreams of dreams. It's actually not surprising the jacket is a little roomy. Craig's _technically_ almost a year older than me. And he's a little taller too. He glances at me for a second. When he does, his eyes widen and he covers his nose.

Yep… he just ran away.

Again.

So by now everyone's seen that I have a jacket on already, and reluctantly stopped fighting. Kenny's gone off to God knows where. Seriously. God knows where. He comes back with Craig a few seconds later. Craig's holding his forehead. He must feel woozy from the bigass loss of blood. Well it's happened _twice_. And Craig looks like he bleeds a _shitload._

Cartman clears his throat, making everyone turn. He somehow has a TV (Lord knows where it came from), and a video tape.

"WE'VE ALL COME HERE TO FREE TWEEK AND OFFICIALLY SEE THE PROOF! I HAVE A VIDEO TAPE THAT PROVES HIS INNOCENCE! MY FRIENDS, CRAIG AND HIS FRIENDS, AND I FOUND IT IN HIS DAD'S HOUSE! IT TURNS OUT WHEN TWEEK'S MOM DIED, THERE WERE LOTS OF CAMERAS AROUND THE HOUSE FOR SECURITY! WE HAPPENED TO FIND SOME TAPES THAT SHOWED HIS MOM'S DEATH FROM MANY ANGLES! I EDITED IT LIKE A MOVIE TO SHOW IT TO EVERYONE! NOW LET'S FUCKING WATCH IT!"

I freeze from the thought of watching my mother die. It's just not right. Scary in fact. I bite my bottom lip so hard that blood starts dripping on the ground. Is it just me or is there a lot of blood tonight? God. Craig sees the red colour on the floor and twitches. I whimper when I see his panicked expression, though it's barely there. Kenny hears me and turns around, looking bored. He sees the red liquid slowly flowing from my mouth and sighs. He steps forward and puts a hand on my shoulder.

"Tweek, it's alright. You don't have to watch it. In fact, now would be a great time. You and Craig can finally go have se-

"Shut up, Kenny." Kyle claps him on the head. Kenny pouts.

"Come on, they're old enough if I'm old enough-

"IN WHAT WAY ARE _YOU _OLD ENOU-

Kyle gets interrupted by the door to the roof slamming open. Ruby stumbles out, huffing. Kyle, Kenny, Craig and I stare at her, too surprised to do anything. No one else notices. She sees us immediately and tries to quickly walk over. God, she's still so sick. She probably knew where we would be standing, though, so at least she knows where she's going.

"THEY'RE COMING! SECURITY! THEY SAW TWEEK'S NOT THERE ANYMORE!" She yells so loud and frantically that all the kids hear. They all instantly start freaking out, yelling at each other and looking not sure what to do. I see Cartman quickly throw Butters the tape and push the TV of the building.

… A little extreme, but ok…

I feel someone grab my hand and pull me aside, behind the little building with the door. Some people follow us. I quickly realise from the warm feeling of the hand that it's Kenny walking me. He sits me down on the tiled ground and quickly starts buttoning up Craig's jacket. I flush at the contact. Hey, I'm not used to it. I see Token, Craig, Clyde, Kyle, and Stan watching us. Kenny turns around and holds his hand out. Kyle quickly grabs Craig's shoulders while Stan pulls his hat off and tosses it at Kenny.

…Ok, I think it's my turn to get a nosebleed. Craig looks so _hot _with his hat off. Though he sure looks annoyed that I'm seeing him like that.

"Ok Romeo. Time to go." Kenny says. He gives the hat to Token, stands up, grips Craig's arm, and yanks him away. Craig gives me a somewhat worried look as he's dragged away. I smile nervously at him, just before he turns away. The security won't get me. My friends aren't dumb enough to let that happen, right?

_Right?_

"They're almost here." Ruby suddenly says. Everyone immediately springs into action. Token quickly sets Craig's hat on my head and sits down next to me, along with Clyde. Stan puts a finger to his lips and hurries away with Kyle. Ruby without warning comes and sits on my lap.

"Wh-Wha-

"Shhh, be quiet. Just keep your head down and pretend to be asleep. You're meant to be Craig." I nod after a few seconds of eye contact with Clyde and hug Ruby close to me. I might as well pretend she's my real sister for a few minutes. It'll do me some good.

About half a second later, I hear many security running of out the door behind us. They all yell 'WHA…!' when they see all the kids. Kids that aren't even from this hospital.

"Why are all of you here?" I hear one of the men yell.

"Didn't you hear? We were here for a field trip and the teacher left us behind." I resist the urge to hit my head against the wall (again) behind me until my head drips blood. Good fucking _cover_, Cartman. Now we're all screwed 'cause of _you_.

"…Why would the teacher leave you behind?" Oh. My. God. Is this dumbass security dude actually _buying_ this?

"Oh, he hates us." I hear all the other kids say 'yeah' in agreement. Even Clyde and Token seem to nod next to me. The guards must've been really surprised. One finally speaks.

"Well… have you seen a blond patient running around anywhere? He's about your age. He needs to be in his room, and he's not. We have strict orders to find him. It seems he's run away somewhere."

"No, none of us have seen any patients."

"Are there any other people here apart from all of you? If you lie, and we find someone else here, you'll all be severely punished." Cartman takes a while to answer.

"… Behind there." Clyde, Token and I stiffen. Ruby stays relaxed, even when running footsteps of security stop right in front of us. I hang my head down, hopefully looking asleep.

"Have you seen the Tweek kid anywhere? He's blond, and about your ag-

"Yeah, yeah, we heard you. Be quiet, they're sleeping." Clyde must've motioned to Ruby and I. I stare at Ruby's hair, waiting for the security to leave. They don't until they've asked a few questions, like why 'Craig' is wearing white pants instead of black, and why he's even here in the first place. But yeah, they eventually leave, mumbling about having to go look out in the snow. I smile at that. I hate them just as much as the nurses. It'll teach them a little lesson for slamming me to the ground and daring to _touch_ Craig during the escape attempt.

Token shakily stands up and brushes himself off. It's snowing heavily, not to mention night time, so we'd all better get out of here or we'll get sick. Especially Ruby. Cartman and Stan come running to see if I'm alright. They pull me up and dust me off, as well as Ruby.

"You ok?"

"I've been better." Stan smiles and leads me back to the rest of the kids. They all look annoyed, probably because they weren't able to see the tape.

A familiar looking blond kid walks up to me, smiling kindly. He's very cute looking, sort of like a doll. He's definitely British, judging by his clothes.

He holds something out to me.

"Here. You dropped this." Yup. British.

I take what he's holding. Son of a bitch. It's the photo of Craig that I stole from Mr Tucker ages ago. That's right. I still have it.

"… Uh, thank you very much." I smile at him awkwardly, not sure what to say. It's such an embarrassing picture to lose. Cartman puts a hand on my shoulder.

"Tweek, you don't have to worry about being nice to Pip. French people don't deserve respect. He's dumb." The kid looks down hopelessly, as if there's nothing he can do. Bullshit.

"Cartman, that's a retarded mistake. He's obviously British." Everyone's, and I mean _everyone's_ jaws drop open.

"R… Really?" Kyle asks, rubbing the back of his head in wonder. Come on… he's meant to be the intelligent one in the group.

"Yeah. Can't you tell from his accent?"

"It sounds French." Stan says, looking at me wierdly.

"It's British." I say firmly.

…

"Well, if you say so, then you're right." Butters says eventually. I look around and see everyone murmuring to each other in agreement. I finally rest my eyes on Pip. He looks… really,_really_ taken aback.

"Um, Thank y-

"TWEAK TUCKER! RUBY TUCKER! YOU TWO ARE IN _SO_ MUCH TROUBLE!"

Oh, _fuck_.

I turn around and smile anxiously. I see right away Mr Tucker stomping over to us, looking extremely angry. As he gets near us, he points at Ruby and I.

"YOU TWO ARE DEAD! I'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR BOTH OF YOU FOR ALMOST HALF AN HOUR! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING OUTSIDE? AND WHERE'S CRAIG? WHERE THE HELL IS HE?"

"I-I don't know! He went off somewhere with Kenny!" I say frantically, not wanting him to get any madder. Ruby doesn't seem fazed at all. Perhaps she's used to her parents being mad at her.

"AND WHAT THE FUCK ARE ALL THESE KIDS DOING HERE? THEY'RE MEANT TO BE AT HOME, SLEEPING!"

"Uh… late birthday party…?"

* * *

><p>"That's right, get in." Mr Tucker says as he shoves Cartman into a cab, which Kyle and Stan are already in. Cartman gives him a huge killer glare as Mr Tucker slams the door.<p>

I watch the car drive away into the dark night. The same thing's happened with everyone else. Mr Tucker called like nine cabs and made sure every kid got in one. The only kids remaining here right now (that aren't patients) are Ruby, Craig, and probably Kenny. I haven't seen Kenny at all, and neither has Mr Tucker, so he's most likely still in the hospital somewhere, knowing him. Kenny _always_ has something up his sleeve.

Mr Tucker suddenly puts his hands on my shoulders and starts guiding me into the lobby. Thank God I'm holding Ruby, or he might've forgotten about her. I stop moving when we pass through the doors, making Mr Tucker have to push me if he wanted me to budge.

"What? Move, Tweek. You belong upstairs." I shake my head and turn around.

"Why so urgent? God, you're spazzing. You're acting like _me _when my anxiety kicks in!"

"Are you an idiot, Tweek?" I open my mouth in shock.

"_What_?"

"You're wearing Craig's jacket. And hat."

"So?"

"The hat was obviously to disguise you, but if you're wearing his jacket… he must've given it to you."

"As a matter a fact, he _did_." I say childishly.

"Then that means you didn't have a jacket."

"Uh… yeah?"

"So you went out into the cold, snowing weather _shirtless_?"

"M-Maybe?"

"You dumbass! You caught a cold almost the moment you stepped out there! You're sick!"

"Do I _look_ sick?" Mr Tucker narrows his eyes and suddenly grabs my collar and forces me over to the front desk where all those smart looking ladies work. They all look up and smile when they see me, but then suddenly stop when they sees Mr Tucker's face. Mr Tucker asks one lady something. I don't catch it.

"Over there. She points to a far wall about 7ft away." Mr Tucker makes me walk to it and stand in front of something. A mirror.

"Now do you see? You're sick." _Now_ I see what he means by 'sick'. I'm like Ruby. My face is red, I look restless, and I can barely stand straight. In fact, now I can barely _see _straight.

"There, you understand. Come on. You're gonna stay in bed for a _long_ time." I frown irritably and reluctantly follow Mr Tucker to the elevator, trying not to drop Ruby, as well as not fall on the floor.

* * *

><p>"You two are to stay here and sleep. And don't complain about having to share the bed. We don't want the sickness spreading around, so you might as well stay together." Mr Tucker has shoved us into a room for doctors and made us both get into bed. He even went and fetched a shirt for me, though I'm still keeping Craig's jacket with me.<p>

"But Ruby has to go home! Ruby misses mommy!"

"Get used to it. You're sick. That goes for you too, Tweek. Don't expect to be leaving here anytime soon."

"Yes, sir." I say while staring at the ceiling in a daze. Tonight has totally worn me out, not to mention I'm weak from this damn cold. And the sad but true fact that I have no idea where Craig is doesn't help either. When Mr Tucker finds him… he's fucked. That's all I know.

Mr Tucker huffs and slams the door on his way out.

"**Don't worry, Tweek."** I open my eyes properly and look next to myself.

"Huh?"

"**Craig's fine. He'll see you tomorrow."**

"You sure?"

"**Yes." **Man. Dark Ruby really creeps me out, but I might as well make use of her. I need these kinds of chats now and then. Kenny's too annoying to be even considered for talking with me in this fashion.

"Will he start talking soon?"

"**He will."**

"Really?"

"**Mmm."**

"Why will he start talking again? Is there a reason he will?"

"**You'll convince him. You always do."**

"But why?"

"**Because he****'ll do anything for you."**

"I doubt that. I'm sure he does things for other people. He's not heartless."

"**Not really. He only concentrates on **_**your**_** happiness."**

"But why? I haven't done anything to deserve it…" Ruby suddenly sits up and laughs like a maniac. I remain lying down and watch her, feeling like nothing but an idiot. She must have her reasons to laugh that much. Eventually, I get worried at the laughing and grab her collar, pulling her back down. That laughing can't be good for her chest, especially in her condition. She _does_ stop laughing after a minute, but still chuckles every few seconds.

"**Mmmhmmmhmmmmhhmhm."** She chuckles for the hundredth time. Ok, I'm at my breaking point.

"**What's so funny?"** Ruby immediately shuts up at my voice. She looks over with a strange mixed expression of surprise and uninterestedness. She looks like she actually wasn't expecting it. For once.

"**Interesting." **She remarks, obviously meaning my voice that's (in a way) identical to hers. **"I've never been able to see this side of you."**

"**Answer the question." **She frowns. Doesn't look like she wants to answer.

"**Because you both are so **_**stupid**_**." **Whoa, I didn't see that coming.

"**How?"**

"**You both insist on making trouble for each other. First, you aren't able to accept that Craig and you are from different environments, and then he can't accept that he loves you, and can't sleep because of it, and you go and get shot, making more trouble, and then you both be ridiculously ignorant and claim you don't like each other at a perfect moment together. And now Craig won't talk and you're being oblivious. It's too funny, Tweek Tweak."**

What? It's my fault Craig's having sleeping problems?

"… **Is what you said all true?"**

"**It is."**

"… **But I truly haven't done anything to make him care about my happiness so much." **Ruby looks at me like she could snap me in half right here and now.

"**ARE YOU A FOOL?" **The volume of her voice shocks me so much that I jump and fall out of the bed. I look up from the floor and see Ruby standing over me, glowering fiercely.

"**How am I being foolish if I don't understand something?" **I yell at her, suddenly feeling miserable and lonely. She looks at me for another split second, and then, out of nowhere, bursts out crying. I watch her. I'm not sure why. I either can't be bothered to see what's wrong, or just don't know what to do. She wipes her dripping eyes with her hands and looks directly at me.

"**You feel it too, right? You feel sad and all alone and don't know what to do." **She sniffles and looks at me helplessly. She smiles slightly when she sees how surprised I am at her sudden break down, and continues talking. **"I don't know what to do, even with this gift. I'm not like Kenny. I'm not smart enough to help you. I've let both you and Craig down. I'm a failure." **I look at her impassively. I don't know whether to cry or laugh. Crying would be good to get rid of frustrations, but laughing would feel good too. So many options… so many _options_ in life it seems…

"**I'm done." **Ruby says out of nowhere.** "I can't do this anymore. I'm tired of helping Craig and you with this."**

**"...Why?"**

"**Because it's too difficult. I shouldn't even be doing it in the first place. Kenny shouldn't either."**

"**Why shouldn't you help us?"**

"… **It's your duty to do these things by yourself. You're a human being." **I gape at Ruby wide-eyed. She's right. Craig and I are both equally pathetic… if Ruby has been trying to help us the whole time and _this _is only how far we've come. It makes me want to rethink my fucking life.

"You're right. You're right…" I say to Ruby, watching the wall in bewilderment. She smiles at my normal voice. After a few seconds, she frowns again and steps towards me. She leans over towards me. **"And to answer your question, '****But why? I haven't done anything to deserve it…'" **She whispers in my ear. "**The answer is simple." **She hastily pulls away and tilts her head innocently.

"Craig cares about your happiness more than his own, because he loves you dearly."

She says it like such a simple sentence. But words like that… are words that make me thankful I didn't end up killing myself with safety scissors that time. They make me thankful to be alive, and able to know someone as perfect as Craig.

As soon as I hear her say them, I start desperately crying. Because of all the times I could've told Craig about how I felt, and because of how much I've unknowingly hurt Craig to heights I don't want to imagine.

Ruby's right.

I've been unspeakably foolish.

* * *

><p><strong>REVIEW! XPLS PLS PLS PLS PLS PLS!<strong>


	12. Chapter 12

Ruby fell asleep at about midnight. I _think_. It might not have been. It's not like I've been staring at the clock the whole time. I can't sleep. I've just been lying bed thinking about how stupid I've been. According to so many people, Craig likes… he _loves_ me romantically. And I've been clueless almost the whole time. I only realised around the time where I got shot that he _might've _had a crush on me. But I was dumb enough to think it was just a crush, and then basically reject him. God, I can't believe it…

I HAD A CHANCE! A CHANCE!

"If that's what you think, then go and talk to him." I look from the ceiling to Ruby, who's lying to me with her eyes still closed. It's the first time I've heard her speak normally… outside of her… her dark personality.

"I can't. I wouldn't know what to say. And don't give me that bullshit of 'Just tell him how you truly feel.' I may be queer, but I'm not _that_ queer." A tiny smile appears on Ruby's face. It feels like it lights up the whole room. It may sound corny, but seriously, the room just looks whiter… if that's even possible. Stupid typical hospital, making everything white. Hey, now that I think about it, it's been a _while _since I've complained about every fucking thing being white in here.

"You're the perfect person for him." Ruby says out of nowhere. The comment makes me redden. I'm only ten, Jeez. I'm none whatsoever experienced with romance. Comments like that make me freaking _nervous_.

"I guess I am." I reply, snuggling under the blankets. I notice Ruby looks surprised. She was expecting me to say something like 'How?' or 'What makes me so perfect?' Something among those lines. Well, she was _wrong _dammit.

"I didn't expect that answer, Tweek." You bet you didn't.

I gaze at the ceiling, feeling extremely calm. My anxiety seems like it's temporarily disappeared. Good ol' Ruby, here to keep me calm. Sort of.

"After our… _conversation_ last night, I'm gonna start trying to be a little smarter with my words and actions. I don't wanna hurt Craig more."

"That's good… of… you…" Silence. What the hell? Ruby's _never _silent.

…

Alright, maybe I should give up on being smarter. It just took me three minutes to finally figure out that Ruby's silent because she's fallen asleep. But it's not surprising. She still looks so frail and delicate that I'm surprised she didn't snap in half running up the stairs to the roof last night.

I hope Mr Tucker takes her to the doctor soon.

I look at the clock and see 4.00am. I guess all the day staff have arrived. Maybe there's still a few night staff, like the reception ladies.

I practically _crap my pants _when I hear the door open (Very quickly. Very, _very_ quickly). Of course, Kenny strolls in with his hands in his pockets. The only odd thing is that he's not smiling. I watch him as he sits on the chair next to the bed, with a very rare impassive expression. There's something wrong.

"…What's wrong?" I ask, lying back down. The door opening made me almost jump in the air.

"…" So he's being silent, huh?

"KENNETH!" He looks up from the floor and glares in annoyance. He hates his full name.

"…Craig's dad's been fired." I shoot up again. No. Fucking. Way.

"_WHAT?_"

"…Craig told you that one time… that his dad was working with a lawyer to get you out of here, didn't he? Yeah well… they obviously got caught. The lawyer was stupid enough to come here to talk about some papers or something, and some nurse saw him. She called the security and they questioned him. He was too much of a puss to lie about who he was. He said stuff like 'If I lied and was caught, I'd have gotten fired, and I wouldn't have been able to feed my family and blah blah blah all that bullshit. What a wimp." I glower at the wall. The nurses here were fucking sent by Satan. You dare not deny it. They were.

"Fucking hell." I curse. Mr Tucker's fired, and now there's no chance of me going free, and…

Wait a second…

"Craig told me if they found out about the lawyer they'd lock me in a padded cell." Kenny suddenly jumps up.

"Oh, that's it! _That's _the reason I came here!" I get the super strong urge to facepalm, but (with great effort) I resist it. Kenny really just makes me want to smash my head open. The others can handle it because they've probably grown up with him, but… I'll take a while.

"Well come on then, Tweek." Kenny says seriously, holding out his hand. I stare at it. Kenny rolls his eyes in aggrivation.

"You're gonna have to come with me and hide, you idiot!" WHAT?

"B-But-

"No time for negotiations! We have to get moving. The security have just been ordered to come find you."

"But I'm _sick_! And Ruby…" My eyes drift towards her. She looks so… vulnerable. Kenny frowns and looks past my shoulder to see her.

"She'll be fine. She can take care of herself. Just leave her to sleep. The security won't do anything to her."

"What? How could you-

"Trust me, Tweek." I immediately stop talking, and after a few seconds of thinking about it, I nod.

"Now then, you're still sick, right?" I stare for a second. Kenny gets the answer.

"Alright then. Where?" I look at myself unsurely.

"Uh, it's a cold." Kenny frowns, studying me with his eyes, as if he's trying to see what's inside of me. He probably is.

"Specifically where?" Specifically? I can't believe Kenny even knows that word. _I_ barely even know that word. He may be smart, but not with language. Or anything else educational.

"Well, I think I have a fever. And my throat hurts. And I have a headache too." Kenny nods, clearly thinking to himself. He then suddenly grabs my collar and pulls me into a headlock.

"WHAT ARE YO-

"Relax. Jeez, you're worse than Cartman when I do this." He puts a hand on my forehead, feeling around every now and then.

…

He finally lets go after about twenty seconds. I stand up straight and look at him. He looks back just as much. I put a hand on my forehead.

"… Holy fuck. You destroyed my headache, didn't you?" Kenny continues looking at me, with no visible emotion on his face.

"Sit down, Tweek." He says finally, pointing to the bed.

"Why-

"Sit _down_!" He suddenly shrieks. I quickly oblidge and sit down. He puts a hand on the top of my head this time. What the hell is he doing?

"I'm trying to find the virus in your brain, in case you were wondering." Kenny answers. God, he's creepy. Wait, a _virus_? Holy crap, those things kill you! AIDS is a virus. AIDS _KILLS_!

"V-_VIRUS_?"

"When you get a fever, it's really a virus that's entered your body and fucked up the part of the brain that controls your temperature. I'm trying to find it."

After a few seconds, he smirks.

"You found it." I comment, watching him nervously.

"I did indeed." He says proudly. He probably doesn't do this that often. He might as well show off while he can.

"I-Is it gone yet?" Kenny frowns and grits his teeth.

"I'm busy." He says, sounding slightly strained. After about ten seconds, he sighs and relaxes himself. He closes his eyes and smiles peacefully. I've never seen him do that. Maybe he likes healing people. Or maybe he's just glad it's over.

"That was a _huge_ virus. You're lucky I got rid of it early."

He suddenly produces a pill out of nowhere. I look at him wide eyed. He holds his hand out, obviously wanting me to take it. Oh, HELL NAW!

"What _is _that thing?"

"It'll take care of your throat." He says, stepping closer to me. Just as I'm about to take the pill from his hand, the door to the room slams open. Kenny's face scrunches up, and he turns to whoever the intruder is.

Fuck. The security dudes.

"BOTH OF YOU, COME OVER HERE!" One guy yells.

"Bullshit!" Kenny replies while pulling me by the sleeve away from all of them.

"DON'T TRY TO RESIST! THERE'S NO EXIT FOR YOU!" Well, the dude's got a point.

"Oh _really_?" Kenny chuckles to himself. Oh God, what's he got up his sleeve now?

"HEY KID! WHAT YOU LAUGHING ABOU-

Kenny cuts him off by slamming his fist against the window (behind us) so hard, that all the glass breaks into shards and falls down on the floor. I stare downwards, trying not to step on the pieces of glass. The security all stare at Kenny in pure shock.

"Sorry dudes, but you won't get Kenny McCormick, _or_ Tweek Tweak that easily." Kenny says, putting one of his arms around my shoulders. The men all clearly think he's gonna commit suicide. And take me with him.

"Wait, kid! Don't do this! We can talk-

Kenny doesn't even wait for the dude to finish his sentence. He quickly covers my mouth and pulls me out the window. I see us falling towards the ground and try to scream. Good thing Kenny covered my mouth, or else the whole state would've heard me. Everything that happens next is a total, _total_ blur. All I know is, one second we're falling to our deaths, and the next, we're STANDING IN MY MOTHER FUCKING CELL! MY CELL!

Kenny lets go of me, looking around urgently. Of course, all the partients are gaping with their mouths dropped open. Even Bradley. Yup. Even Bradley.

Actually, I'm surprised they all didn't start screaming. Kenny and I literally just appeared out of nowhere, for God's sake.

"No time to look around. Quickly, get your stuff." I don't exactly get what he means by my 'stuff' but I guess I'll just take things I need. A.K.A a picture of my mom and dad, the school photo of Craig I stole, my fluffy handcuffs, the credit card Kenny gave me, and of course, the cell phone I got for my birthday.

"Is that it?" Kenny asks, eyeing me putting everything in my pockets. I nod quickly, looking out for a nurse. My eyes wonder over next to Cartman's old cell. There's a new kid in there. I swear, I saw him at the meeting last night, which is wierd. How can he get convicted of something so _quick_? I didn't manage to find out his name. Kenny sees where I'm gawking and speaks.

"Damien, what the hell are you doing here?" Sounds like this kid gets in trouble a lot, judging by the tone of Kenny's voice.

**"Some kids pissed me off. I was unfortunately seen. I can't kill a whole hospital, so I'll stay here for a while."** Whoa. So he's _that_ kind of person, huh? The poor dude. I pity him.

Kenny shakes his head at Damien irritably and opens the door to my cell. Or tries to. Man, I should've told him it's locked…

"FUCK! FUCK! WHY DOES THIS HAPPEN TO ME? WHY?" Kenny screams at his reflection in the glass. What the hell? Something's wrong with Kenny. Damien doesn't look that surprised.

"Kenny…" Kenny realises the way he's acting, turns around, and gives me a reassuring smile. Though this time, I can tell it's fake. It's amazing how I never saw almost all his smiles before were fake. I really _am _a fool.

**"Don't give me the bullshit with that fake smile, bastard." **Crap, it's back. These days … I think my dark side tries to jump out every time he gets the chance. I think it's the same with everyone else's. It seems to happen a lot.

Unlike Ruby, who was surprised when I turned out like this, Kenny only glowers.

"Hmph. You saw though my infamous fake smile. There are very few people who can do that. In fact, you and Butters are the only ones." So that's it.

**"You like Butters."** Bradley's head snaps up in alarm. Kenny just keeps glaring at me, but not looking totally sure what to say. He doesn't really look mad at _me_. Probably just himself.

"…I don't-

"THERE THEY ARE! INSIDE TWEEK'S CELL!" Hell. They've found us.

"Whoop, red light." Kenny says, watching them approach us.

"Wh-What're we gonna _do?_" I ask Kenny frantically and he turns to me. His look says it all. He has no idea. He lifts his hands up in the 'I dunno' motion.

"No ideas here." He says, looking a tiny bit sheepish. _Shit_.

I watch in fear as the big men come even closer to my cell. One of them stops in front of the door and gets some keys out. As he's trying to figure out which one to use, all of the security behind him suddenly fall to the floor.

The whole cell room goes quiet for a few seconds, bit it's broken by the last security's scream. Man, what a wimp. He starts frantically turning around and looking in all directions, trying to figure out who or what made his co-workers suddenly collapse.

Then, again out of nowhere, he suddenly falls to the floor, not moving after he lands. Wierd. I wonder what happened to all of them. Did Kenny do it? He looks pretty annoyed, so there's a possibility that he could've…

"They're all dead. I can't see any pulse." Kenny says, narrowing his eyes. I flinch and look at the men in horror. Holy fuck. Alright, there's no way Kenny did it. He's not that kind of person. But then who did…?

"Damien." Kenny says quietly. Damien looks up. "Wasn't that a little overboard? You didn't need to kill them. Just knock them out." Damien laughs.

**"Unlike _you_, I'm here for a reason, you know. It's my **_**job **_**to do these things. I have cruelness and sin running through my veins. It's in my blood."**

…What.

"However true that may be…" Kenny says shakily, as if he wants to murder Damien. "Satan… I mean, your dad, sent you to a specific place with a specific purpose. You're only here to kill in South Park. The people here have nothing to do with you. You had no right to end their lives. Not to mention you scared the crap out of Tweek Tweak." Damien looks at me. For the first time, we share some eye contact.

He has that same look in his eyes than when I first met Cartman.

Absolute loneliness.

**"My father told me you were kept here because you 'killed' your mother."**

"Hey…" Kenny says.

**"Apparently he sent a bad conscience to convince your father to accuse you of killing her."**

"…" Does he really need to talk about this?

**"It must be a horrible life for you. Being betrayed by your father, having to live here for so long, making friends with such fools. And - this is what makes me most amused - you seeking comfort in a random fourth grade boy, and then convincing yourself you're in love with him. Do you honestly think he likes you back? It's pathetic. You-**

The loud bang of my forehead hitting the glass wall in front of him cuts Damien off. He stares in astonishment as the wall cracks and breaks into millions of little pieces. I start to feel blood dripping slowly down my face, landing in little droplets on the floor. As soon as the wall between the two of us is broken, I grab Damien's shirt and punch him as hard as I can. It hurts my fist, but what the hell. This dude insulted my family, called my friends fools, and dared to say I don't truly love Craig. You don't do that to Tweek Tweak. Over the months, it's become a common sense rule. A common sense rule_._

**"Look, fucker." **I say to him. **"I don't care who the fuck you are, or whose son you are, but let me tell you something. You don't ever talk about my past or my family. That's my business, and you have no goddamn right to assume things like that. And as for my friends, you may even know them more well than I do. That's a fact. But, I still know they're all kind people who have given up and done things for me. I'd still be a stupid, fearful, institutionalised kid who doesn't know anything about the outside of a building if it wasn't for them. And with Craig… when I met him, I had a childish, puppy love crush on him, which was pretty natural. But when he hugged me for the first time, I most likely fell for him. I can honestly say this right now." **I put my hand over my chest.** "I love Craig Tucker with all my heart and soul. If he were to die, I would die too. He's the first thing I think of when I wake up and the last thing I think of before I go to sleep. There hasn't been a moment since I met him that I haven't thought about him. And if you **_**ever**_** talk about him that way again… I'll fucking _kill_ you."**

Damien sure looks taken aback now. It doesn't look like anyone's really talked back to him like that before. I think he's trying not to show it, but he looks speechless.

"…" Kenny looks like I just stabbed someone. Well, I sort of did. In the pride.

"Tweek. We have to go." Kenny says carefully behind me. I nod, giving one last look to Damien. He now looks more recovered, but still in shock.

"Come on." Kenny grabs my arm and pulls me to the door. Crap, it's still locked.

"Want me to smash my head against it again?" I ask, relieved that my voice is normal again.

"No, you've done enough." Kenny says, frowning. I hear him mutter 'Shit, Craig's gonna be so mad.' He slowly reaches in his pocket and pulls out a key. I'm pretty sure that key wasn't originally there.

"There. Let's get out of here." He walks out slowly. I follow. As we get out, he turns around and locks the door again.

"To make sure you don't get out." He nods to Damien.

…

Once we're outside the cell room, the nurse sitting outside, of course, sees us. As she's reaches for her walkie-talkie, Kenny grabs her arm.

"We were never here." He says to her. She looks stunned for a second, and then wavers and nods to him. Ok, he _did_ something to her.

"Tweek! Come on. No time to daydream. If anyone sees you, we're fucked. I don't have much energy left to do anything." I nod obediently and follow Kenny down the hall.

"_Fuck_." He suddenly stops me with his hand. I look over his shoulder in confusion.

Oh.

"They put a survellance camera there." I say for him. He nods and turns around.

"There's no way around that thing. We need to figure out a way to avoid that it."

"Can't we get rid of it?" Kenny shakes his head.

"I don't have a gun." …

"I meant can't we deactivate it?"

"Maybe."

"Hey, I have an idea! Can't we just go round the other way to the elevator? That would be easier."

"We're not going to the elevator. We're not even leaving the building for that matter."

"B-But you said I'm coming with you to hide!"

"That's why we're going to the new special hiding place. It's in the building."

"… You're not gonna tell me where it is, so I'm not gonna ask." Kenny nods.

"There's gotta be a way to get rid of that camera." Kenny says, looking around. His phone suddenly vibrates in his pocket. He sighs in aggrivation and takes it out.

"Yo." …

"We're _coming_. God, be patient. There's a camera in the hall, and we don't know how to pass it. We're a little fucked." …

"I don't have much energy left. Tweek and I were caught in in his room. I had to get us to jump out the window. And I've done a shitload of other things." …

"Look, just stay there. We'll try to be there soon. SO FUCKING _WAIT_!" He yells the last part and then smashes his phone onto the floor. He then stomps on it. Looks like he's still a little on edge. Just a little.

"Why're you so irritated with everything today? Did something happen with Butters?" I ask, trying to figure out if the phone might still possibly work.

"First of all, I don't like Butters. Second, nothing happened with him. And third, I'm not being irritated with everything. It's just-

"FUCKING HELL A _DOCTOR'S _COMING!" I hiss quickly, gesturing behind me. How the heck did Kenny not sense him? Oh right. Not much energy. Oops.

"Fuckety fuck fuck!" Kenny curses under his breath and looks around again. He sees a door about 5ft away, opens it, and pulls me in. We watch the doctor's shadow walk past. God, that was close. I know that doctor. He sure isn't nice. In fact, I'm so glad I had Mr Tucker and not him.

"Where the hell are we?" Kenny asks tiredly, as if he's too tired to figure it out with his… his gift. I scan the room. It looks like the inside of a cell.

"It's the 'Solitary Confinement' room." I say, staring at the backwards letters on the door.

"Did you actually know that, or did you read the letters on the door?"

"I knew. I can't read backwards." It's true. I can't. Kenny stares for a second and then looks around the room again.

"Someone's gotta be here then." He says eventually. He's right. There's _always_ someone in solitary confinement. You'd think with glass and padded cells they'd keep us in check. Well, no. Some people are so rebel or fucked up that they need to stay in here for like six months. They legally can't be kept in padded cells for that long, especially at our age, so this place is the alternative.

"There _should_ be someone here." I answer, glancing at the bed. It's empty. But what strikes me as the most wierd is that the bed is totally neat and made, but the rest of the room is totally untidy. There definitely has to be someone here, because they're never let out unless they've been here way to long, like for years. And last I heard, some kid was put in here only about a week ago.

"I'll look in the bathroom." Kenny says warily, walking towards a door that says 'Lavatory' on it. Just after he walks in, I glance around again. Judging by the look of the stuff on the floor, someone my age must be in here.

***BANG***

"Whoa!" I spin around and look where the noise came from. It's the window. There's a dead bird sliding down it, leaving a small trail of blood on the glass. Okay… I did _not _need to see that. How the hell did Kenny not hear it? Oh, right. He probably already knew what it was. I turn back around and barely see a tennis ball rolling under the bed. I must've spinned around so fast that I knocked it with my foot. Well, might as well get it. This kid might wonder where it is when he gets back from wherever the hell he is. I say 'he' because the girls have their own solitary confinement room on the other side of the building.

Goddamn, this bed is low. Damn, I'll have to get on my stomach. After I lay down and peer under the stupid piece or furniture, I see the ball about 2ft away. I reach for it, and just as I'm about to touch it, a hand (fucking cold I might add) grabs my wrist.

"GYAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! AHHHHHHHHHHHH! AHHHHHHHH! KEEEEEEENNY! KENNY HELP ME!" I scream as loud as I can as I pull my arm away and stand up, banging my head on the base of the bed on the way. Kenny, of course this time, comes sprinting out the bathroom like a freaking bolt of lightning. As I'm standing up, I crash straight into him, sending us both to the floor again.

"Get off me, you idiot!" Kenny pushes me off of him and rubs his head. I swear, I heard the freaking crack of his skull as we hit the floor. Which is, I'll remind you again, fucking tiled.

We both look at the bottom of the bed.

"What the hell happened?" Kenny asks, after seeing nothing.

"You should know! There's someone under there!" I shakily point.

"There's no one ther-

Kenny gets interrupted by someone grunting as they get out from their… hiding place.

…

Well, son of a bitch. It's the kid that had the outburst at me in the cafeteria, and got their life saved my me (in a way), _and _was with me in the hospital for a short time. Ha! It's not surprising _he's _the one in this room. He has a shorter temper than fucking Cartman. I would know. I spent an entire week with this dude. In the same room. With him in a bad mood almost the whole time. It was pretty chaotic. I'm glad he was relaeased after seven days, or else I really _would _have gone insane.

He looks up and glares at me. I don't think he even notices Kenny.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Tweek Tweak. Here to piss me off once more." He says. I instantly glare back after the comment.

"I could say the same to you. And it's Tweek Tucker, by the way. Hey, you know what? Since I don't know your name, and I doubt you'll tell me if I ask, I'm gonna call you the 'Bitchy Kid'." I give him my most obvious fake smile.

"No…" Kenny suddenly says. Both the Bitchy Kid and I look at him in curiousity. It's not like Kenny to say stuff like that. Then again, he's not himself today.

I don't know about Bitchy Kid, but it doesn't take me long to realise he's upset about the dead bird on the windowsill. Wow, Kenny has a soft side to him. Well, I guess he has to. It's impossible for a tough guy to like someone as annoying as Butters. Nothing against Butters, but fucking hell…

"Kenny… I thought you knew it was coming. You must've heard me shriek when I got scared by it." He shakes his head.

"I was… a little distracted. I didn't know about him…" He gestures to the Bitchy Kid. "… either."

"…" I watch in horror as Kenny walks up to the window, opens it, and takes the dead bird in his hands.

"Are you actually able to revive it?" I ask as he inspects it closley with his eyes. After a few seconds, he shakes his head in response to my question.

"I'm not able to do that unless God sends me a sign to."

"A sign?"

"God will tell me if he changes his mind and wants someone to live. I'm only allowed to heal injured or near-to-death people. Or animals. Not revive the dead."

"So then there's nothing you can do. The bird's dead."

"No, it's alive." Kenny says quickly, as if he wants the conversation to be over.

"But you have no energy." Kenny's head snaps up. Yup, He forgot about that. He slowy turns his head to me. I can tell he's thinking hard. He suddenly gets a determined look on his face and holds the bird out to me, obviously wanting me to hold it for him. I'm about to protest when he interrupts me.

"No protests. We need to do this quickly, or else the bird really will die. Do you want a harmless animal to die, Tweek?" He gives me that look that says 'Don't fuck with me' like he gave Jason last night. I waver and take the bird, cringing. God, it's covered in blood. Even I can tell that most of it's bones are broken. I can't believe Kenny's gonna give this bird a chance, especially in his tired out condition.

Kenny pulls his phone out from his pocket and dials a number. The person picks up almost immediately.

"Yeah, it's me again."…

"We're in the 'Solitary Confinement room."…

"Yes, I _know _you're waiting. Do you think it's my fucking fault there's a camera in there? Or that a doctor came? God, grow up."…

"Oh, right. Look, one of you needs to come here and help us. A bird crashed into the window and it's close to death. I'm gonna heal it, but like I said, I'm don't have much energy. I'm probably gonna pass out, so someone needs to get Tweek."…

The person on the other end of the line hung up pretty quickly, because Kenny puts his phone back in almost less than two seconds.

"Someone's gonna come help you." He says to me.

"What'll happen to you?"

"Oh, believe me, I'll be fine. Now give me the bird. It's not breathing." I nod obediently and gently hand the bird over to him. Kenny takes it, quickly lays it on the floor and spreads it's wings out. He touches it's chest, probably trying to get it's heart beating again. After a few seconds, Kenny smiles and starts working on other parts, like the legs, head and wings. After a while, the bird looks totally normal, but unmoving.

"Wh-Why's it not moving?"

"It's unconscious." Kenny replies. He holds it out to me again.

"You wanna help it?" He says, smiling. Even though this is probably the best smile he's ever given me, I can tell Kenny only wants me to do it because he's too exhausted.

"…How?"

"Just…" Kenny turns it over so it's back is facing us. "…Tap it's back really hard. It's all choked up from the shock of the crash onto the window. It's not breathing 'cause of that. If you don't do it quickly, it'll suffocate." I nod shakily. Kenny gives the bird to me.

"Go on." Kenny urges. I look at the bird and take a deep breath. Here goes nothing. I hit the bird on the back as hard as I can. It immediately squawks loudly, trying to get air. I gasp and smile widely. I revived (sort of) a fucking bird, bitches!

"Come here, Tweek." Kenny calls to me from the bathroom. How'd he get there so fast? Wait, why am I asking…?

I nod and carry the spluttering bird into the bathroom.

"Put it there." Kenny points to the wash basin. I give a small nod and do as he says. The bird rolls out of my hands, still struggling to breathe. I watch it, feeling a little nervous.

"Is it ok? Did I do it right?" I ask, still watching.

"You did fine. It's just a little shaky from the experience. It's like when you get punched in the gut and you take a while to get your breath back. Just let it sit there and give it a minute. I'm telling you, in a little while, that bird is gonna feel better than it's ever felt."

"… Alright." We both watch it gradually breathe easier. After what seems like forever, it starts to breathe normally, judging from the silence.

"Go get a tissue, Tweek. There's no toilet paper to use." Kenny says suddenly, leaning over the basin and lifting the bird.

"O-Ok." I walk out the bathroom and almost crash right into the Bitchy Kid, who's still standing in the same place as when we got the bird.

"Do you have any tissues?" I ask him, glancing around. He points to a desk with a drawer.

"Thank you." I say as I'm turning away. Even though I seriously dislike him, I need to use manners all the time. If I'm ever gonna live in the outside, I'll need them. I walk over to the desk and open the drawer. Sure enough, there's a box of tissues in it. I take the box and quickly walk over to where Kenny's waiting. He sees me and gestures for the box. I hold it out and he takes one tissue, wetting it.

"What are you gonna do?"

"Isn't it obvious? I'm gonna clean it. It can't go flying around with all this blood on it." He rolls his eyes. Well gee, I'm sorry Kenny. In case you haven't noticed, I'm not the biggest animal expert.

I watch Kenny gently wipe the wings with the tissue. After a minute, they looks perfectly clean. Kenny gets another few tissues and repeats the action with the head and chest. After a while, the bird looks perfect. I can't even believe it's the same bird as the one that crashed into the window only ten minutes ago. It's crazy.

"Now we can let it go. Quickly, I'm getting tired." Kenny means about to faint, but I'm not gonna say anything. As we walk out the bathroom, he stumbles and almost drops the bird. The bird makes a large screech from the fright.

"I think I should take it, Kenny." He nods in agreement and gives me the bird. I walk up to the window with it, Kenny in tow. I hold my hands out the window. The bird hesitates for about eight seconds, but then jumps out of my hands and goes flying. After a few seconds, it's already higher than twice the height of this building. I watch in interest for a few minutes, until I can't see the bird anymore. Well, be free little bird. God, that sounded so gay. I'm saying a lot of gay stuff today… and I just noticed I drone _way_ too much.

Before I can think more, I see Kenny falling out of the corner of my eye. I turn my head and look at him properly. It's too late to do anything. I close my eyes and wait for the thud… and don't hear it. I open my eyes and see Kyle struggling to hold Kenny upright. Cartman comes up beside me and gives me a reassuring smile.

"It's alright. We're here to help you." I stare at him in wonder.

"How… did you guys get here?"

"We climbed through there." Cartman points upwards. I look to where he's pointing and see an open air vent. My God.

"So you're telling me… we're gonna have to get up there again, crawl through there all the way to where you're hiding, while dragging an unconscious Kenny, and do all that without being noticed?" Kyle and Cartman look at each other.

"Yeah." - "Yeah." They both say. I stare at them. Cartman suddenly gets a look of terror.

"What the fuck happened to your forehead?" He asks quietly.

"Oh… Uh…" Man, what do I say? I did it for such a wierd reason.

"…He smashed his head so hard on a glass wall that he cracked the glass and cut himself." Kenny mumbles against Kyle.

"You're awake?" Kyle asks.

"No, I'm about to…" Kenny passes out again.

I see Cartman start pacing around and rubbing his temples, muttering random shit under his breath, while Kyle looks around the room with a paranoid expression. Should I ask?

"We're fucked. We're so _fucked_!" Cartman yells at Kyle, flailing his arms around. Ok, I'm gonna have to ask.

"What? What is it?" Kyle and Cartman look at me fearfully.

"We let you get harmed…CRAIG'S GONNA F-ING KILL US! ESPECIALLY KENNY!" Cartman yells helplessly. Oh, for God's sake.

"Guys… why would he blame you? You weren't even there."

"Y-Yeah, but when he finds out we helped you get to the hiding place, he'll think we were."

"Even if he does, I doubt he'd be _that _mad."

"HE _WOULD_!" They both shout at me.

"You guys should get out of here. A doctor's coming soon to check up on me." We all look at Bitchy Kid. He scowls.

"Not that I care if you guys get caught. It's just that I don't want a kid that's given me nothing but trouble," He looks at me. "A fatass ex-patient," He looks at Cartman. "An outsider," He looks at Kyle. "And a freaking wierdo who brought a bird back to life, to be here in my room. Too much trouble."

"Well, then, sorry to waste your time." Kyle says in annoyance. He looks at me.

"Well, we'll need a chair or something to get back up there." I nod and grab the chair next to the desk, placing it right below the open air vent.

"Alright. I'll go first." Kyle says. He gets onto the chair and lifts himself into the vent. I have to give him a boost though.

"Ok, you're next." Cartman says. I nod and get onto the chair. Kyle has his arms outstretched, waiting for me. I take his hands and let him help me in. I flash him a thankful smile afterwards. As Kyle's lifting Kenny from Cartman, I take the chance to look around. I sure as hell have never been in an air vent before. It's bigger than I expected, probably because of how big the building is.

"… eek. Tweek!" I look at Kyle.

"Need your help getting Cartman in." He says, looking irritated. I nod, lean over and grab one of Cartman's hands. Goddamn… he's heavy.

Well, we _eventually_get Cartman inside. Kyle looks unsure which way to go. No…

"Kyle, I swear to God, if you forgot the way, I'm gonna injure myself more." Both of them look at me with scared expressions. Cartman laughs nervously.

"Honestly Jew, you couldn't even remember the way?"

"Shut up! I know exactly where we are. It's… uh… it's _this _way." He points to our right. I glower at him.

"It better be. Now lead the way, dammit."

* * *

><p>Lord, this is taking <em>forever<em>. Kyle keeps getting lost and Cartman keeps complaining about how heavy Kenny is. What's worse is that these air vents are so annoying. Sometimes they go straight, sometimes they go down, and sometimes they go up. Either way, they piss me off. And we've been in here for like an _hour_.

"I think we're almost there." Kyle says.

"You _think_?" I screech.

"Ok, I _know_." Kyle responds tiredly.

"I think we should just make a hole in the vent and jump out. It's like hell in here." Cartman says loudly.

"Shut up, fatass. We don't need your complaining."

"Well, excuse me for trying to help, you ungrateful asshole!"

"_I'm _ungrateful? Let's not forget a year ago when you lost Clyde Frog, and I helped you find it. Did you ever thank me for that? NO!"

"Why you-

"WILL YOU BOTH JUST SHUT UP! YOU'RE DRIVING ME CRAZY!" I yell. They instantly quieten.

"Now look. There's a vent over there. I'll look through it." Neither of them say anything, but I can tell they want me to go look. So I do.

I peer down and see a bunch of ladies at desks typing on computers. I scratch the metal in the vent so hard that it makes a sound similar to a chalk board. Kyle and Cartman cringe tightly.

**"Kyle… you led us all the way to the **_**lobby**_**. We started on the fucking **_**fourth floor**_**." **I say darkly. Man, I'm mad.

Kyle doesn't look sure what to say. I narrow my eyes and look back down. I notice that right below me is that nice lady… Sylvia? Yeah, Sylvia… Sylvia's working right below me. I doubt she'd tattle on me. Then again…

Aw, fuck it. I have to take a chance. All or nothing.

"Pssst! Over here!" I whisper to her. She confusedly looks around, and then up to me. She silently gasps and covers her mouth. I wave nervously. After a few seconds, she awkwardly waves back.

'Can you do sign language?' I mouth to her.

She nods.

I sigh in relief. That's good. I learnt to do sign language a few years ago when I made friends with a deaf patient. I thought he was ingoring me at first, but then I figured out his condition. He noticed I was curious about him and wrote notes to me. It took forever, but he eventually taught me sign language, and that was how we communicated. It's a good thing I still remember it.

I sign to Sylvia.

'Have the security been found?'

'Yes. A nurse saw the bodies. What happened?'

'Long story. Would you mind giving us some directions?'

'Of course. Where?' Fuck. I turn around and look at Kyle.

"Where are we heading? I _need _to know."

"The fourth floor kitchen. Token bribed the cook." I turn back around.

'The fourth floor kitchen.' Sylvia looks puzzled, but then gets a piece of paper out and starts drawing on it. She stands up and gives it to me. How the other ladies didn't just see her, I'll never know.

I look at the paper. It's like a crappy little map. I can't understand it, but Kyle (looking over my shoulder) sure looks like he does.

"God damn it. It's so hot in here." Cartman complains for the millionth time. I roll my eyes.

'Can you please turn the air conditioning on as cold as you can?' Syvia nods and gets up. After a minute, a HUGE wind comes from behind us. I faceplant into the vent, leaving red line marks on my face. Damn, that hurt. Especially with my cut forehead.

Kyle and Cartman faceplant too. It's easy to tell we're all struggling to stay still. This wind is pretty fucking strong.

'Thank you.' I quickly sign.

"Hey, Kyle! Lead the way!" I shout, trying to overcome the sound of the wind. Kyle looks puzzled.

"LEAD THE WAY!" I scream. He gets the 'Ohhhhh!' look on his face. After recieveing a glare from me, he climbs over me and starts to lead the way, like I said.

…

I swear to God, we're going so fast. I think I just went airborn for a few seconds. Poor Kyle keeps having to stop us to go in a different direction, and every time we go crashing like dominos into him. But still, it's better than us having to drag ourselves everywhere.

In less than five minutes, we're at the correct air vent, which is already open for us. Kyle jumps through the hole and Stan catches him. I jump next and Butters catches me. No one catches Cartman. He lands on his head, cursing. I remember Kenny, reach up, and pull him down by the sleeve. Stan helps me catch him. He then takes Kenny from me, knowing I'm tired. Good ol' Stan. Just being _there_ for everyone.

Wow, there're a lot of people here. There's Kyle, Cartman, Kenny, Stan, Butters and Pip. I dunno what the hell Pip's doing here, but who cares?

"God." Cartman says as he rubs his head. "This was meant to be the easy and quick part. Who knew fetching Tweek would be so hard? Even _Kenny _couldn't do it on his own."

"There's no helping it." Kyle comments. "The survellance's been even more tightened. All the staff are on alert."

"Someone help me with Kenny." Stan says from the other side of the room. I quickly jog over and help him carry and lay Kenny to rest on a blanket. Stan thanks me and sits next to him, to keep watch I guess.

"Yo, Tweek! Over here, man." I hear Clyde call to me. I turn around and smile as I see him, Token and Craig sitting behind one of the counters. I walk over and sit with them. They look pretty tired. They probably ran away from home as soon as they _got _there.

"Hey. You guys look beat."

"Yeah, well, as soon as we got home we called another meeting and a bunch of us volenteered to come back here."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't worry 'bout it. It was our choice. We can't leave you in this hell hole. It's inhumane." I laugh. I look to see how Craig is, but I can't see his expression because his face is covered by his hat.

Token catches me trying to see and speaks.

"He's asleep. He hasn't slept all night… or morning. He only fell asleep about ten minutes ago."

"Oh." I stare. Yup, he's passed out.

"But are _you _ok, Tweek? You look like a zombie."

"I haven't slept either. I was thinking a little too much." Token and Clyde exchange glances.

"Craig was thinking a lot too. He just refused to sleep." Whoa, that's ironic.

"…What happened to your head?" Clyde asks.

"Yeah, what _did_ happen to your head?" Stan asks from a distance, looking at us.

"Oh, well… Kenny can tell you when he wakes up." I smile nervously. I still feel ridiculous for actually doing that.

Damien must think I'm an absolute retard.

* * *

><p>"I spy with my little eye… something beginning with 'T'."<p>

"Table."

"Dammit! You cheated, Jew!"

"No I didn't! You just can't think of good stuff, fatass!"

"Will there ever be a day where you two _won't _fight?" Kyle and Cartman both glare at Token.

"That's our business, rich kid. Piss off." Cartman spits at him.

"Can we all just be quiet? We'll get caught." Stan says, sounding tired.

"Guys, I'm gonna warn you right now. Craig's waking up." We all look at Clyde and see Craig stirring next to him. Kyle and Cartman shreik and quickly stand up, looking around for hiding places. Kyle sprints to a cabinet, opens it, and gets inside. Cartman gets in the fridge. It's a _big _fridge, in case you were wondering how the hell he fit in there.

Craig lifts his hand and pulls his hat off his face. He rubs his eyes and opens them. I can't describe how much horror appears on his face when he sees me. He grits his teeth and mumbles stuff to himself. Uh oh. He looks up at me again, this time looking extremely, _extremely _pissed off.

**"What… WHAT THE **_**FUCK**_** HAPPENED TO YOUR FOREHEAD?" **He shouts as loud as he can at me. I stare. I can't believe he actually spoke. Scratch that, screamed.

"I banged it on a glass wall." I tell him nervously. He exhales and glares at the floor. I've never seen him so mad. He's practically ready to kill.

**"Who was with you?" **He eventually asks.

"Uh… Kenny, but-

**"KENNY, YOU MOTHER FUCKER! YOU'RE DEAD! YOU'RE SO DEAD!" **Craig starts walking over to the still sleeping Kenny, but is stopped by everyone but me, Kyle, and Cartman.

"Let's not get too worked up, Craig!" Token says.

"Yeah! Tweek did it on his own will! Kenny had nothing to do with it!" Craig stopped moving and gives all of them dirty looks.

**"I told all of you… to not let Tweek get injured, and **_**this **_**is what happens? It's stupid! I'm gonna-**

**"Craig." **Everyone looks at me. I even see Kyle and Cartman peer out from their hiding places. Craig looks surprised. So he should.

**"Isn't something like that not their duty, but yours, as my special someone?"**

Oh my God. I just did it. It just slipped out. I confidently called Craig my special someone. SPECIAL SOMEONE DAMMIT!

Jesus Christ.

Craig stares at me for a few more seconds, and then walks to a corner and sits in it. I hear Stan mutter 'Emo Corner'. He's sort of right, I guess.

"What'd I miss?" Everyone sees Kenny, standing and rubbing his eyes.

"Well, the highlights were you guys falling through the air vent, Kyle and Cartman playing 'I Spy', and Craig finally talking."

"…What."

* * *

><p>"I see. So that's what happened." Kenny says, nodding to himself after Kyle tells him exactly what happened. "Honestly Tweek, did you really need to bag your head so hard? There's even tiny shards of glass in it." He says as he cleans the wound on my forehead.<p>

"…"

"Oh well. What's done is done, I guess." He sighs and pulls his hand away. "There. Good as new." I feel my forehead. The wound is totally _gone_. There's not even a scar.

"You're done?"

"Yeah. Humans are easier to work with than animals, not to mention I'm totally energised."

"Aren't you surprised Craig started talking?" Kyle asks out of nowhere.

"No, not really. I knew it was gonna happen today so…" Oh yeah. If Ruby knew Kenny would've too.

"Everyone, gather round." Kenny suddenly says. Token and Clyde look up from their card game, Cartman stops looking through the fridge and turns around, Butters and Pip stop talking, and Stan stops texting on his phone. They all take Kenny's message in and walk over to us. Except Craig.

"Look guys. We need to talk about the reason we're all here." They all murmur among themselves and nod.

"What is it? What are you guys gonna do?" Kenny looks at me seriously.

"You're gonna attempt to escape again. And instead of just Craig, _all _of us are gonna help you this time. We're not gonna let you get locked up in here forever. You're gonna prove your innocence and live a normal life. Our job is, as your friends, to help you with that."

**A/N: I seriously hate this chapter. The only scene I like is with the bird. But yeah, had to write something. A friend of mine helped me and thought this would be good for a chapter, so I took her word for it. I'm sorry most of this chapter is just Kenny and Tweek, but my friend and I both thought they should have some time alone to get to know Kenny's character more. And I'm sorry for almost no amount of Creek. I'm gonna try and put lots in the next chapter. MAYBE a kiss scene. And just to let you know, they **_**will **_**kiss in this story. It'll probably be crappily written, BUT THEY WILL! AND AGAIN, MAYBE EVEN THE NEXT CHAPTER! **

**Seriosuly, if people ask me, I'll try to put a kiss scene in the next chapter. **

**Crap, I started rambling. Anyway**…

**Please review!**

**PLS! **


	13. Chapter 13

"Tweek, it's like you live to get sick." Kenny says in disbelief, trying to see what to heal first. I flush and stare at the floor, feeling everyone's eyes on me. I'm so embarrassed of having to be taken care of like this. It makes me look like a wimp. Like Butters. Kenny sighs for the millionth time. He says I live to get sick. Well, _I _say he lives to sigh at me. "Geez, why did it have to be almost _everywhere_? Why couldn't it just be a toothache? For God's sake, another fever, a runny nose, still a sore throat, a headache, stuffy ears, dizziness, _and_ sore muscles!"

"You gotta admit that's a lot, Tweek." Stan says, shaking his head, along with Clyde and Cartman.

"I'm sorry, how's this _my _fault?"

"It's _your _body. Take care of it." Cartman snaps.

"Yeah. You need to be more careful." Clyde says.

"Guys, knock it off. It's probably because of the cold air in the vent. Tweek didn't know it would be that freezing. Besides, he's not used to cold temperatures. He's almost never outside. Don't worry, Tweek. They're just messing around." Kyle gifts me with a kind smile. I laugh nervously and nod. It's gonna take me a while to get this kind of humor. All of them, even Kyle and Stan, are screwed in the head. I know it, they know it, everyone knows it.

"For fuck's sake." Kenny closes his eyes and rubs his temples. "This is so frustrating! If this was a normal situation, then I'd just make you take medication like an average person, but we don't have time now. We're escaping _tonight_!"

"Kenny, calm down. It's not the end of the world." Token says.

"It is for _him_…" Kenny points to Craig, who's still in his little corner. "…If we don't get Tweek out of here."

"You say that, but…" Kyle looks at Craig and instantly changes his mind. "Yeah, you're right. It'll be the end of the world." Well, that set the mood to an all time low.

I look at Craig. Seeing him like that makes me really regret saying what I said. It was so _stupid._ I've hurt him… again.

God, that sounded lame. Kenny suddenly gets up. "Craig, a word." He says seriously, pointing to the freezer. Craig, after a short while of Kenny glaring holes at his back, slowly gets up and follows him. Aw man. Craig's gonna get a really bad talking to.

"Jesus Christ, Tweek. You're really small." Clyde says randomly, holding my shirt up in front of him. My face goes red at being reminded that I had to take my shirt off so Kenny could examine me. And everyone seeing. We all suddenly hear a huge thud on the freezer door and jump. Uh oh, something's happening. I nervously turn back to Clyde.

"I'm not _that _small, am I?"

"You are. Ha, you're like Kyle." Cartman laughs.

"I'm not small! You just think I am 'cause compared to your size I'm a twig."

"No, no Kyle, you're right. You're not small. You're just scrawny!" Clyde laughs.

"WHY YOU-

"All of you, just be quiet for a minute while I heal Tweek." Kenny says calmly, coming towards us. What the hell? I'm pretty sure he just hit Craig in there, and now… I swear to God, he _does_ have a split personality.

"No, I don't, Tweek." Kenny says as he sits down. I start to back away from him. "Oh no you don't!" Kenny grabs my arm and pulls me back to him.

"C-Can you read my mind?" Kenny takes a second to think about what to say.

"In a way."

"In a _way_?"

"Just drop it, Tweek." Cartman laughs at Kenny snapping at me. I don't think Kenny snaps at people often. In fact, before all this, I don't think he even spoke that often.

"Can you guys just leave? Just go do something. I need to concentrate." Everyone scoffs and walks away to do something. Cartman starts fishing through the fridge again, Stan and Token have a tug-o-war over the deck of cards, while Kyle and Clyde watch them, Butters sits a distance away and glances around, mostly at Kenny and I, and Pip sits on a chair and goes to Lala Land.

"Alright, let's do this." Kenny says, and then puts hand to my forehead, getting rid of my headache and dizziness in seconds. "Tweek, this is gonna tickle." I'm about to ask what, but start laughing as Kenny blows in my ear.

"Wh-What was that for?" I ask, still giggling.

"You're stuffy ears. Can you hear better now?" Wow, now that I think about it, everything _does _sound way better. Almost perfect. Kenny scares me. Scares me very much.

"This might hurt." Kenny warns me. Jeez, what now? Kenny raises his hand and hits my back really hard, like I did to that bird. It makes me cough, of course, but that's to be expected. I feel a small vibration around my body.

"Do your muscles still hurt? Anywhere?" Kenny asks, helping me sit upright because I'd almost faceplanted (again today) from the shock.

"I… I'm not sure. My body feels like jelly." Man, now I know how that poor bird felt after _I_ hit it. Kenny smiles sheepishly.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that. I think I did it a little hard." Yeah. A _little _hard.

After a few minutes of me shaking, and Kenny keeping me from collapsing on the floor, I start to get the feeling back in my muscles. They feel better than they ever have. That bird must've felt awesome to be back flying.

"I feel great." I turn my head to Kenny to smile at him, but instead look at something in his hands. A cup of… of stuff.

"What. The. Hell. Is. That." I stare at it in fear. It's fucking purple. _Purple_.

"I made it a while ago in case of a situation like this. I didn't think it was that urgent before, but now you really need it. Inhale it. Now."

"What?"

"I said inhale it. It'll unblock your nose and get rid of your fever." I hesitate big time, but eventually take the cup and sniff it. God it smells weird. Not really _bad_, but weird.

"More than that! It won't work if it's not a big breath in. Go on." I stare at the goop for a second, and then inhale it deeply. It takes a few seconds to take effect.

When it does, I drop the cup.

WHAT THE FUCK? THAT'S SO STRANGE! IT FEELS LIKE A BUNCH OF MINI FIREBALLS ARE RUNNING AROUND MY HEAD KILLING STUFF! GOD IT BURNS!

"IT _BURNS_!" I yell weakly, voicing my thoughts. Everyone in the room looks at me in alarm. Even Craig. Kenny smirks.

"That means it's working. It's killing all the pathogens in your head area." I glare at Kenny.

"That's it! I'm sick of your healing shit. Just let me die!" Everyone freezes. I swear, even the room temperature decreases. I look over to the other side of the room and see Craig looking more disappointed than he's ever been. It even looks like his eyes have lost color. Everyone else just looks unsure.

Ok, I shouldn't have said that.

I turn back to Kenny. He looks the same as Craig.

"Um, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said something like that. I'll take whatever you give me without any complaints." Kenny finally makes some eye contact with me.

"Yeah… Yeah! Alright. Now I want you to drink it. Just do it all at once." Kenny gives me the cup I dropped.

"But I dropped it. How…?" Kenny smiles almost sadly.

"I caught it, silly. Haha… ha…" He trails of and shuts his mouth. He realises he's starting to space out and shakes his head, giving the cup to me.

"Seriously, drink it all at once." Kenny says quickly. I nod and bring the cup to my lips. Here goes nothing… again.

Lord… it tastes bad. Sort of like paint, cough syrup, and vegetables mixed together. That might even be what it is. I sure hope not. Half way through, I choke and start coughing. Kenny and the others (yes, even Craig) immediately jump up and come to my aid. Kenny helps me hold the cup up, while the rest start asking me if I'm alright. Cartman even pats my back to stop my choking.

"Come on, Tweek. Almost there." Kenny says sternly. He really seems to want me to drink it all. When I finally finish, his split personality starts again and he smiles. I start coughing again, this time from the lack of air.

"I'm… alright." I finally say to everyone. All of them except Kenny and Craig shrug and go back to their leisure time. If you could call it that. Craig just sits and watches me. I feel him looking at me and after a few seconds and turn to him. He stares for a minute, and when I expect him to frown and look away, he smiles. He _smiles._ Been a freaking while since I've seen that. Of course, I can't help but not hide the surprise on my face. Craig sees my expression and smiles more. I watch him, still very surprised.

After a while, Craig gives me a small nod in goodbye and walks to Token and Clyde, who are more than welcome to him. It's amazing how good friends they are. They look like the only ones who understand him perfectly, apart from Kenny. Kenny understands _everyone _perfectly.

The door to the room suddenly slams open. The huge, fat cook walks in, ready to make breakfast for the male patients. He sees us all and looks confused for a second. He remembers when Token takes a dollar out of his pocket and waves it at him.

"You kids, get in the storage room. I can't have you all distacting me. Only come out when I tell you to. If you get caught, I won't defend you." Kenny sighs. Again.

"Alright everyone. You heard him. Let's go." Kenny takes my arm and leads me in the store room after everyone else. The cook closes and locks the door behind us.

"You've gotta be kidding me! We have to stay here with all these _vegetables_!" Cartman wails, looking at the vegetables with a paranoid expression.

"Knock it off, fatass!" Stan says angrily, finally snapping.

Everyone sits down somewhere. I just about die of joy when Craig sits next to me. "Alright guys. We have a few hours to do what the fuck we want." Kenny says, eyeing Butters. No doubt he just wants an excuse to sit and stare at Butters for a long period of time.

BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA H AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

It's hard to find something to make fun of Kenny about. There's no way I'll miss this chance. Maybe Cartman and the others' somewhat cruel personalities are rubbing off on me.

"Hey everyone, Kenny likes-

"TWEEK!" Kenny says quickly, looking alarmed.

'Why not? You said you didn't like him, so you can just deny it.' I sign to him, with the awesome sign language. Kenny should know it.

'You dick.' He signs back, just as quick as me. He sure looks annoyed. Ha, stuff like that makes me smile. I catch Pip staring at us, but he merely laughs at Kenny and I. We continue having a one-sided happy and one-sided pissed off sign language conversation. For like half an hour.

It also takes me that long to realise all the boys are watching us by now.

"Whoa, you're really good at that, Tweek. Teach me, dammit~!"

"Shut _up_, fatass."

"You can't think of any other insults. HAHA damn you suck."

"I'll think of plenty! Dumbass! Dick! Piece of good-for-nothing crap! Idiot! Fool! Asshole! Anti-semetic! Wierdo! Psychopath! Murderer! Racist! Dipshit! Sexist!…

Like ten minutes later… (everyone's pretty much half-listening now)

… RETARD! LONER! HATER! CROSS-DRESSER! TROLL! FAG-

"You do realise I'm not upset by any of these insults, Kyle." Cartman says smugly. Kyle fumes.

"YOU… YOU… YOU STUPID FUCKING _BASTARD CHILD_!" Everyone stops what they're doing and looks at Kyle. Except me. What's the big deal? Cartman's not really a bastard child, is he? Man, he looks appalled. Even _Kyle _looks a little surprised of what he said.

"Uh, I… " Kyle looks down and shakes his head. I don't think he's ever really had to apologise to Cartman. For anything _serious_, that is.

"…" Cartman gets a hold of himself, looks up at Kyle, and gives him a really venemous glare. And sticks his tongue out as a bonus. We all watch him walk to a corner, near a bunch of pasta. He feels us staring at him and flips us off. We take that moment to look away.

"Kyle, what were you thinking? We _agreed_ not to mention that he doesn't have a dad. You know he's sensitive to that."

"Yeah well, I'm sensitive to being called a dirty Jew all the time, but _he _doesn't care about that!"

"Just apologise, Kyle." Stan pinches the bridge of his nose. I get the feeling he does that a lot.

"What? Why should I-

"Just _apologise_!"

"Hell no." Stan exhales deeply. He really doesn't like drama.

"Well, _someone _has to talk to him." We all look at Kenny. "Look, the last thing we need right now is someone being sad, annoyed, or pissed off with someone. Someone just f-ing go talk to him and make him feel better. Or else he'll be pissed off all day, and by tonight, he won't want to cooperate with anyone. Someone volunteer."

…

"Oh, for God's sake. You guys call yourselves his best friends." I roll my eyes at Kyle, Stan, and Kenny. "_I'll _go talk to him."

I feel everyone watching my back as I walk over. Ok, I'm gonna be totally calm with this. No Butters personality.

"Cartman." I say firmly as I kneel next to him. Like I expected, he ignores me. "Cartman, talk to me, man." He lifts his head this time and gives me a really pissed off look.

"Tweek, I'm warning you right now. If you don't leave me alone, I'm gonna kick you square in the goddamn nuts." He tells me in a firm voice.

"Why do you wanna be left alone?"

"Tweek, I swear to God-

**"You're always alone, aren't you?" **Cartman stares at me.

"What the fuck are you talking abo-

"Why do you always insist on keeping to yourself?"

"I don't-

"Cartman, it's me. It's Tweek Twea- I mean Tucker." I resist the urge to facepalm at myself.

"… My friends are assholes."

"Well yeah, they are, but you sort of are too."

"Exactly. That's how it works. We're all dicks, and don't tell each other anything personal."

"Then why are Stan and Kyle so close?" I briefly remember Craig mentioning Stan and Kyle are 'super best friends'.

"'Cause… 'Cause they're fags."

"No, because they're kind to each other."

"That's a bunch of bullcrap, though."

"Well, that's how you have to be to get along with people."

"Nuh-uh."

"Ya-huh!"

"Tweek, just go away. No one likes me, and that's how I like it. I'm fine by myself."

"No, you're not. Why else do you think you're in this situation?"

"…"

"That's _right_. Look, we're… we're… uh…" I look around. I smile when I see it, stand up, and grab a shitload of macaroni and dump it in front of him. He looks up at me, clearly puzzled.

"We're all like a bunch of macaroni. Together we make a bowl of food, like a group of friends. But, if one goes…" I pick up one and toss it behind my shoulder. I hear Clyde go 'Fuck!'. "… It doesn't really matter, but if it's still there, then the group of macaroni's bigger and better. So … So be friends with all of us." Cartman looks astonished. I can tell no one's ever really tried to help him like this before.

"…Alright." He says finally, looking at the floor.

"That's great! Now let's have a smile."

"Dude, don't gay it up." He gives me a genuine smile nevertheless. I nod in goodbye and walk back to the group, feeling proud.

"You see that?" I point to Cartman, who's looking into space and smiling. "I did that. Yup, I did it." Everyone looks over my shoulders, and then back at me. They all look absolutely dumbfounded. So they _should_.

"Oh thank God." Kenny puts a hand over his chest in relief. He takes a deep breath and starts walking over to Cartman, to talk to him I guess, along with Stan and a slightly nervous (and reluctant) Kyle.

"Tweek, wanna play poker?" Clyde holds the cards up, looking pretty welcome. I shake my head as I sit under a shelf with a bunch of cans.

"No, it's alright. I just need to think for a few minutes." I don't really, I just wanna be on my own for a few minutes, but he believes it anyway.

"Come on then, Craig." Clyde says. I see Craig shake his head.

"No. I need to _think _too." Craig gives me a knowing look. Dammit. He's impossible for me to fool. Well, I guess that's good then. Shouldn't lie to the person you like. Clyde and Token exchange glances and then sit down a small distance away to play their 'poker'. Seriously, I don't even know what that is. Another reason why I didn't wanna play.

Craig sits next to me leisurely. I think he's normal again. Thank goodness.

"So what did you say to Cartman? I've never seen him convinced by someone like that." I take a few seconds to process his normal voice again, and then grin at him.

"Secret."

"Aw, come on."

"Nope. My techniques of convincing are thing's you'll never know."

"I'm sure I'll find out one day, if I'm gonna be with you." I freeze. Craig sure took a risk to say something like that. Don't get me wrong, I'm touched.

"Yeah, that's true." Craig's head snaps up.

"You know what I mean, right?" He asks.

"_Yes_, Craig. I know what you mean. I'm not as stupid as I used to be."

"You were _never _stupid." I laugh at him.

"Are you kidding? It took me this long to figure out that you… that you… " I trail off. Fuck it. I'm scared.

"That I like you." He says. I can tell it took all his strength to say it with a straight face.

"Yeah. That."

"Didn't anyone tell you about it?" Craig looks taken aback.

"Well sure, but I didn't really believe it."

"Yeah well, _I _didn't believe it at first." Craig smiles to himself. He feels stupid.

"Yeah, I could tell." There's a long silence. A LONG silence. Seriously, all we hear is Cartman telling a lame joke to his friends.

"I'm sorry I acted that way, Tweek." Craig says suddenly. "I didn't know what to do after what you said at the hospital. When you said you didn't like me, I was so freaked out. It was my worst fear come true. You basically rejected me, and that was the last thing I wanted." I slump.

"I can't believe I said those things. I'm so sorry, Craig. I should've been straight with you."

"I should've as well. Anyway, what's done is done."

"Yeah, you're right."

"Ha, it's funny. The moment you saw me, you liked me, right?" I nod, me feeling stupid this time.

"When did _you _start liking me?"

"Well… I seriously at first didn't care for you. The only reason I wanted to meet you is because of your interesting name, and the fact that the night before, Kenny'd called me in the middle of the night and said he'd met you. I asked him 'So?' and he went 'You're gonna like him when you meet him tomorrow.' I got freaked out by the fact he knew I was gonna meet you and hung up. I'm actually still sorta pissed that he was right about me liking you."

"But didn't you wonder what they were doing here? You said you had no idea that Cartman was in here."

"I assumed they were visiting Kenny's brother."

"Oh."

"Anyway, when I got to school the next day, I kept telling everyone about you, and then Kenny said, in front of everyone as a joke, 'Jeez, it's like you're fucking in love with him or something.'"

"He probably knew how this would all turn out. He was trying to irritate you."

"I'm sure he did know. So yeah, I kicked him in the nuts for that and just walked away. But I started to wonder if I really had a teensy crush on you, and wanted to make sure. That's why I couldn't stop talking about you, and asking if I could visit you."

"You did?"

"Yeah, but maybe it was just becuase I wanted to be your friend so badly. That's what I thought anyway. But I think when I really started to love you is when we tried to escape and you yelled out to me that apology." I look to my side proudly.

HAHA, I WAS RIGHT! MY FEELINGS _DID _REACH HIM! _HAHA_!

"…I started getting freaked out after that, since you were literally all I started thinking about. That's why I couldn't sleep."

"I'm so sorry for causing you all these problems."

"Hey, don't apologise. Everything's fine now."

"Yeah, I guess. Kenny showed me that everything would be alright."

"He _showed _you?"

"Mmm."

"Typical Kenny. Ha, just look at them. They're so predictable." I do as Craig says and look at them. Cartman's still sitting in the same place, while Kenny pats his shoulder to comfort him, and while Kyle looks like he's struggling to apologise. Stan's just looking like he's in hell.

"They may not look it, but they're extremely close. They were together when they were _babies_."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. That's why, even though Cartman isn't particularly fond of them, he treasures them greatly."

"But was it true about that bastard child thing?"

"Yeah. Turns out one of the people he killed was his dad. He only found out a week ago. But he was more concerned about being half-ginger than killing his own father."

"But what about his mother?"

"…You'll see her for yourself soon. Let's not talk about her."

"Alright then…"

"God, I'm tired. I hope I'll be awake enough for tonight."

"What did you _do _last night anyway?"

"Well, since you were gonna pretend to be me, according to Kenny, I had to be gone. Kenny took me and fucking jumped us off the building. When we realised everyone had been sent home by my dad, Kenny went to South Park and fetched a few people and came back. I was hiding in the toilets the entire time. Token bribed the cook, and we decided to hide here. About half an hour later Kenny suddenly got up and said you were awake. We all volunteered to go get you, but Kenny insisted. Yeah, as you and Kenny were fucked, Kyle and Cartman took a chance and went through the vents."

"How is it that they knew the way and didn't know the way back?"

"Kyle memorised it. He must've forgot it and gotten confused with the backwards way."

"Ohhh…"

***SMASH***

Everyone jumps and turns to Kenny, who purposely smashed a bottle of wine to get our attention. A little extreme, but ok…

"Everyone, we're escaping tonight, and it's now 7.00am, since Kyle and Cartman… " He gives them a look. "Took a whole hour and a half getting Tweek through those vents. We need to leave here at about midnight, since there's almost no one around at those times. Since almost all of us stayed up all night, we need to sleep a lot to be energetic tonight, or else we're screwed. Understand?"

"How the fuck are we meant to sleep in _here_?"

"Just grin and bear it, Cartman. Grin and bear it."

* * *

><p>"WAKEY-WAKEY!"<p>

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!" I scream and jump up, hitting Kenny right in the face in defence. Serves him right. He falls to the floor laughing. I shakily stand up and glare at him. Did he really have to do it in my ear?

"Man, that was funny." Kenny says as he gets up again, still giggling. I see something in his right hand. It's a… a…

"You used a _megaphone_ on me?" I yell. "Where the hell did you get one? It hurt my ear so bad!"

"Hehe, secret. Ha, watch this." I look around and see everyone. Craig's fallen asleep in the corner closest to me. Stan's curled up with Kyle and Cartman under a HUGE rack of fruit and vegetables. Token and Cyde have fallen asleep in the middle of the room. Butters is sleeping while leaning against the door. And Pip's somewhere under a bunch of bread. Typical Frenchie… oh wait, he's British.

Any fool can tell Kenny's gonna wake them all up.

Kenny inhales deeply and shouts into the megaphone.

"WAKE UP, FAGGOTS!"

Craig jumps up so high that he loses balance and falls backwards on his head. Kyle reacts first, lifting up his head and banging it on the rack, making lots of carrots and apples fall on Stan and Cartman. Token and Clyde yelp and sit up, looking at each other in alarm. Butters opens his eyes frantically, clutching his heart. Pip doesn't really do anything. All I hear is a small 'Oh!' and see a little of the bread falling around him.

They all take a pretty long time figuring out it was Kenny. Kenny falls down laughing again. Typical.

Craig gets up, rubbing the back of his head and cursing. Kyle and Stan grumble while looking around, while Cartman shakes carrots off him, quivering. Token and Clyde straighten themselves and stand up. Butters just stares at Kenny, looking dazed. After staring for a while, I see Pip appear under all the bread, looking curious.

"Kenny… you jackass." Stan facepalms. Everyone walks over to the two of us, glaring. Even Butters looks a little annoyed. You don't see _that _every day.

"Look everyone, it's already 10.00pm. Like I said, we're planning to escape at midnight. That means we only have two hours to plan and get ready for it. The first problem is, who's gonna replace Tweek? If the staff finds out he's missing, then they'll call detectives and all that shit. Someone needs to pretend to be him. Any volunteers?" No one raises their hand. After a while, everyone starts looking at Pip.

"Wh-Why me?"

"You look the most similar to Tweek. Hell, if we cut your hair and gave you green contacts, you'd be his identical twin. So you're gonna stay here, alright?"

"Yes." Pip looks dejected, as if there's no choice. Well, actually there isnt.

"Good. Now the second thing. We can't crawl through the vents. If they're turned on by someone, Tweek will probably get sick again. I can't afford to heal him again, especially on the outside. The problem is, if we use the hallways, the cameras will spot us in no time. We need to deactivate those fuckers."

"But if we do that, the camera dudes will notice and think something's up."

"Yeah, so we need to get rid of them."

"I can shoot 'em."

"No need to be extreme, Cartman. We just need to drug them."

"Where the fuck do we get the drugs?" Kenny pulls a bag of white pills out of nowhere.

"Here. Someone put on a uniform and pretend to be a well-priveleged patient that's able to do work. Put it in the coffee."

"There's still a chance people could see us though…" Token says.

"That's why we're cutting the power off. Everywhere in the building."

"But then they'll know it's sabotaged."

"Damien's gonna 'cause a storm. Pip'll ask him. They're now cell neighbours."

"W-We are?"

"Yeah. Got a problem with that?"

"Well… he isn't very nice to me."

"Suck it up. Craig, you guide Tweek in the dark. Since this hospital is like fucking vanillla ice cream, he won't be able to see anything."

"Neither will we!"

"You'll adjust in like twenty seconds. Tweek won't." Cartman sticks his tongue out. "Stan, you can be the one that gives them the coffee."

"Why _me_?"

"Becuase you're reliable. Kyle would get impatient, as well as Cartman, Token and Clyde would be distracted by anything, and Craig's recognisable."

"Dammit."


	14. Chapter 14

"Alright, Pip, it's time." Kenny states, trying not to laugh, pulling a small pair of scissors out of his pocket. Poor Pip quivers in his chair, nowhere near ready for this. The chef came and unlocked the storage room door not long ago, so we aren't stuck with all those vegetables anymore. Ugh, it makes me cringe just to think about it.

"Please, just do it…" He says meekly.

"Jus' to warn you, I've never done this before."

"Well that just helps everything, Kenny. God, you should be glad Pip's doing this in the first place." I shake my head in disbelief, folding my arms moodily. What an asshole he can be. He's made me sit in front of Pip so he can see my hair properly. This won't work if Pip doesn't look exactly like me.

"And _you_ should be glad all of us are here in the first place! Now shut up and let me cut his damn hair." Kenny snaps, pointing the scissors at me in defense. "Ok, Pip, ready, ready, ready?" Without warning, he takes a snippet out of Pip's hair. Pip flinches at the sound, but makes no other movements. I think he's just taking one for the team.

"I'm hungry." Cartman suddenly says, looking around. It gathers the attention of everyone in the room.

"You're always hungry, fatass." Kenny remarks, concentrating hard on making Pip's hair look like mine. I watch guiltily as little bits of Pip's hair falls on the tiled floor.

"WELL EXCUSE ME FOR NOT EATING THE ENTIRE DAY!" Cartman shrieks at Kenny, furious. Stan nods in agreement.

"As much as I hate to admit it, he's right. None of us have eaten at all today, or last night."

"Well it can't be helped. We need to get Tweek out of here. If you're hungry, then damn eat something. We're in a kitchen."

"But none of us know how to cook!" Cartman exclaims. Kenny growls in aggravation and glares at him. I hope he hasn't messes up Pip's hair.

"Then eat something _raw_, I don't give a shit! Eat a damn carrot for all I care!"

"EW, GROSS!"

"OH FOR GOD'S SAKE, YOU'RE MAKING ME MESS UP! EVERYONE EXCEPT TWEEK GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE, DAMMIT! LEAVE US IN PEACE!" Everyone does as he says, since it'll be no good if Kenny's in such a bad mood. Craig gives me a small smile as he walks away. "Hey, stop staring at Craig and look this way." Kenny points at me with the scissors again.

"It isn't my fault that you're love life isn't working out, and mine is." I tell him, looking at him in pity.

"What, are you angry now?"

"Not angry, just disappointed." Kenny rolls his eyes and continues to snip at Pip's hair. "But seriously, stop being such a dick." Kenny looks up with a venomous stare.

"Don't act like you know everything!"

"But just because of your problems with Butters, doesn't mea-

"There ain't no problem with him! The problem is me, end of story." I blink slowly, in confusion.

"_Why_? What's wrong with you?"

"I don't want to talk about it, Tweek." Kenny grumbles, almost cutting his finger.

"Well, I'm not going to let you continue being a d-_dick_ to everyone without an explanation."

"You needn't worry about my non-existent love life, Tweek."

"Does Butters like you?" Kenny glowers, not answering or even making eye contact. "Well, does he? I'm waiting for my answer."

"Yes, he does! Now shut up." Kenny flushes slightly, embarrassed to be talking about this in front of Pip; though Pip seems to have other things on his mind at the moment.

"Then what's the problem?"

"I told you, the problem is me."

"How? You like him too, don't you?"

"M-More or less, but…" I notice Kenny looking at Butters almost guiltily. "He doesn't deserve me."

"Why would you say something like that?"

"Because I'm the reason… he's so discriminated."

"He seems to do fine when it comes to friends."

"Not in particular. You seem him with his happy front, but inside he's really upset. Just wait 'till you get to school with us. You'll see."

"But what did you do to cause this? You seem to be very kind to him."

"But that's because I feel guilty. I was just really mean to him to get attention when we were little. I didn't really think… it would _hurt_ him. And yet after all this, he likes me. I decided he just shouldn't have to put up with me."

"Well, have you apologized to him?"

"I don't see the point."

"But Kenny! Don't you want to tell him how sorry you are?"

"Sure I do, but-

"I hate to interrupt, but isn't my hair done? It feels as if it is." Kenny looks down and sees that Pip's hair has indeed gotten to the point where it looks like mine.

"Oh, yeah. It is." Kenny laughs nervously, running a hand through his own hair.

* * *

><p>"Alright Tweek, come on out. Pip, you too!" I hear Kenny say from the other side of the door. Pip and I nervously glance at each other. It turns out Clyde had snatched up some clothes for me when he got home, and now I have to wear them as to not look suspicious. As for Pip, he needs to wear my patient's uniform. It's easy to tell we both feel out of place in these unfamiliar outfits. "Hurry up! We wanna see!" I sigh and open the door, coming out ahead of Pip.<p>

"Man… it's strange to see you out of white." Clyde says, tilting his head in interest. Craig looks speechless.

"Well, you'd better get used to it, huh?" I tell him, smiling. He nods while smiling back.

"Pip, time to put the contacts in." Kenny states, pulling out a little box thing. Pip nods dejectedly, clearly not excited, and I immediately feel sorry for him. Craig pulls me away, leaving Kenny to torture Pip.

"Just think, Tweek. This time tomorrow, you'll be with me in South Park!" I hate to be the pessimist here, but…

"Craig, where will I stay? How will I eat?" Craig laughs at my inquiries, but I just stare it him, unamused. Is this any laughing matter?

"You're gonna hide in my room. And don't worry about food. I have you covered."

"If you're sure."

"ALRIGHT!" Kenny declares loudly, snapping everyone to attention. "The plan is in motion. Pip now looks almost exactly like Tweek. I mean, _look_ at him." He points to Pip, who indeed looks almost like a replica of me. "First of all, Stan needs another patient uniform to wear. But none of us can be seen while getting it. Even if we cut off the power, the cameras are all now night-vision, thanks to Tweek's earlier escape attempt."

"But doesn't that mean we'll be seen no matter what?" Stan asks miserably.

"Yup. But the trick is, _who's_ seen." We all stare questionably. Kenny scoffs and explains.

"The person who gets the uniform from the uniform closet is gonna be seen, no doubt. But, if Stan, Kyle, Cartman, Butters, Clyde, Token, Tweek, or _I_ go, they're gonna figure out that there's kids here that aren't patients. And the only person who's actually meant to be out is Tweek, since he's 'missing'. And the person who looks like Tweek is…" We all look at Pip.

"B-But he'll still get caught, either way!" I protest.

"Yup, exactly. But it's for the best; he needs to stay here anyway. If someone other than Pip goes, then they'll find us all. And the plan's ruined. Bottom line, the one who's fetching the uniform has to be Pip." Kenny holds Pip at arm's length. "You ready?"

"I'd rather not say."

"Listen to me. I've showed you where the closet is, and you're gonna find it. Don't worry; it isn't that far away, just around a few corners. Grab any random boy's uniform you see. The security are on their way to you by that point, so you gotta friggin' _run_. Sprint back here, chuck the clothes inside, and step out and get caught. They'll take you to Tweek's cell, and Damien will be there. Ask him to cause a storm. If he refuses, then plead with him. If he still refuses, then get on your knees and damn beg him. No matter what, we have to have a storm. You understand?" Pip nods, now looking much more determined.

"I won't let you down."

"Good, now _go_!" Kenny shoos Pip out of the kitchen, and he's off. Kenny turns back around and points at Stan. "What're you standing there for? Make some coffee for the camera people for God's sake!" Stan looks around and suddenly springs to action, doing as Kenny says and making some coffee. Craig puts an arm around me and steers me away from the scene. Good of him. Even though I'm not addicted to it anymore, coffee does sound pretty good right now.

"I think it'd be best if you weren't too energetic tonight. What d'ya say, huh?" Craig snorts.

"Yes, quite." Kyle suddenly appears.

"Tweek, give me your hand cuffs." Craig and I exchange looks.

"_Why_?"

"Just do it." I ruffle through my new pocket and find the handcuffs, and hand them to Kyle. He suddenly opens them and cuffs Craig and I together. "WH-WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" I shriek, outraged. Craig looks equally angry.

"Kenny told me to do it. No harm done. You guys have got to stay together, apparently."

"OKAY EVERYONE!" We all once again snap our heads towards Kenny. "Everyone has to hide. There's a pretty damn good chance the security dudes will peek in here once they've restrained Pip. They're almost here, so hurry! Stan, when he throws the clothes in, you better put them on pretty fucking fast!" Clyde and Kyle hide in the pantry, under a large shelf, and shut the door. Token hides behind the counter. Cartman and Butters hide in the large fridge, that now has a lot of space in it (*cough* Cartman ate all the food *cough*). Craig pulls me into a cupboard and shuts the door. It's pretty cramped in here, I mean, my face is squashed against the wall of the cabinet, after all.

God knows where Kenny hid, but good thing he did. I hear the door quickly slam open, and a soft thump on the floor. Must've been Pip throwing the clothes in. Stan must be pretty fast at changing, because I hear the door slam open again, and a security dude ask 'What do you think you're doing here? You're supposed to be in your cell.'

"Well yeah, but I've been told to take the camera watchers their coffee."

"Don't the nurses usually do that?"

"They're, uh, all busy looking for Tweek. So one told me to do it, and to be snappy, so I'd better go."

"Alright. If you see Tweek, then alert a staff member."

"Will do." I hear the security guys leave, and Stan goes, "Guys, it's alright. He's gone, and they've taken Pip." We all do as he says and safely come out. Kenny steps back into authority right away.

"Ok, so right now Pip is being taken to Tweek's cell, and he's gonna ask for the storm. None of us except Stan can step out of here without being seen, so Stan, you gotta take the coffee. As soon as those people take one sip, they're gonna feel sleepy. So get outta there quickly before you look suspicious. By the time you get back, it'll be safe. I'll give you more instructions then, ok?"

"Yeah, yeah." Stan takes the tray of coffee, stumbling on the way out.

"AND DON'T DROP IT!" Kenny adds quickly. "Alright, Tweek, Craig, once the camera dudes are passed out, you guys go to Craig's dad's old office. His stuff should still be in there. And get this… tehe, you guys are gonna love this part… I'm gonna give you a lovely lighter and you're gonna burn Tweek's adoption papers!" Craig and I's jaws drop open. Say what now?

"Wait, so we're not gonna be 'brothers' anymore?" Craig asks, sounding hopeful. Kenny nods gleefully.

"Mhm!" Craig looks at me, clearly happy. I smile back at him, relieved that I won't have to worry about this anymore. "But…" Great, now our happy moment is ruined. "You'd better not get caught. You'll be about half way there when the power goes out - don't get damn caught in that first half." I roll my eyes. As if we'll be that _stupid_!

Seeing Craig's smiling face, I suddenly remember a very precious thing.

"What about Ruby?" I ask Kenny. He ignores me and eyes Butters. I grab his sleeve. "Don't pretend to not hear! What about that little girl? We can't leave her here. She needs to come home as soon as possible."

"Don't worry Tweek. When my dad got fired, he would have taken her with him." I stare at Craig doubtfully.

"Actually," We both look at Kenny. "He didn't. He's still here somewhere. I don't know where. So you'd better be careful."

"But back to my question, what about Ruby?"

"We don't have time to get her, Tweek."

"I'm not leaving unless she's coming too." Kenny looks at Craig for help. Craig, on the other hand, is deep in thought. Surprisingly, after his little thinking session, Craig glowers at Kenny.

"I'm not leaving either. My sister has to come. Besides, if Tweek's staying," He points to my handcuffs. "Then I'm staying."

"Fine, FINE! Token and Clyde will have to fetch her."

"No, we'll do it." Craig declares. "She's my sister. Clyde and Token can take care of that power outage."

"Fine." Kenny pulls out several pairs of handcuffs out of nowhere and begins to cuff people together. Clyde and Token. Butters and Cartman. Himself and Kyle. Poor Stan… he's gonna be all alone. "Everyone's gonna have to travel in pairs. If you're alone here then you're fucked. Stan will have to hold my arm or something. Ok, this is the plan. Craig, Tweek, you're gonna go to the room Ruby's in as soon as Stan comes back. Quickly grab Ruby, then go to Craig's dad's office, and burn those damn papers. The power should go out around the time you get to Ruby. If it doesn't, then stay there. Don't leave the room. Here," He gives something to Craig. "Is the lighter. After you've done with that, then freaking bolt to the lobby, using the stairs. Try not to let any employees see you as you're exiting the hospital. Token, Clyde, you'll cut the power. When Stan comes back, go straight to that cell room, to Pip. If there's a nurse outside, then she'll be sleeping. Just be quiet. Ask Damien if he's caused a storm, and if he has, then proceed to go cut the power. If he hasn't, then call me. Kyle, Cartman, B-Butters, you're gonna stay with me. We're gonna shoot down to the lobby with Stan, provided that the power has gone out. Once we're outside, we're gonna have to wait for the others." We all stare in irritation. So much to friggin' remember! Cartman and Kyle eye each other doubtfully, Butters shuffles uncomfortably, Token and Clyde are smiling like 'You're kidding me right?', and even Craig and I are doubtful. Are we really gonna be able to pull this off?

"Stan's coming." Butters suddenly says, having peeked out the door.

"Alright. You two ready?" Kenny grabs Craig and I by the shoulders and shoves us out the door, not waiting for our answers. Stan gives us a 'good luck' smile as he passes. Kenny also kicks Token and Clyde out while he's at it. After the four of us are left standing out there, Kenny slams the door shit. After exchanging puzzled glances, we start to go our separate ways. Token and Clyde to the prison, Craig and I to Ruby.

Only after a few minutes of travelling through the hallways, Craig stops me, and pulls us around a corner. I go skidding to a halt, and almost fall over, but he thankfully steadies me. "There's a doctor." He hisses frantically. "Damn it, can't Clyde and Token hurry the fuck up?"

"Of course the power isn't out, we haven't even got to Ruby's room yet." We both cringe and prepare to be caught, but the doctor luckily continues going straight, instead of turning the corner we're hiding behind. We step out around the corner and watch the man's retreating back. "Phew, thank God." I laugh nervously, in the midst of catching Craig looking at me. "Is something wrong?" He shakes his head, giving me a small smile.

"Nope, nothing. Come on, let's go." We turn around and continue our way to where Ruby is. But when we get there, we discover a shocking thing. "It's locked…" Craig says, trying to open the door.

"What do you mean it's locked?"

"I mean it's _locked_." Craig says frantically, now tugging on the handle. He starts to knock on the door loudly. "Ruby? Ruby! Ruby, open this door at once! You hear me, you little brat! Open it!" I try to reassure him.

"W-Well pulling on it isn't going to help. And she obviously can't hear you. We need keys or something."

"Well we haven't _got_ any!" Craig looks at the ceiling helplessly.

"I know, I know, but…" I remember Kenny's 'gift' to me.

"Are credit cards able to open doors or something?" Craig stares at me, shocked.

"What?"

"Kenny gave me this credit card yesterday, and-

"Wait, you have it here now?"

"Oh, yes." I fumble in my pocket and give him the card. Craig laughs anxiously.

"Well I'll be damned. We have a card right here to help us." I see. Kenny must've foreseen this happening. Craig magically slides the card in the crack between the door and the wall, and it somehow opens the door. I have no idea how. "OH MY GOD! Ruby!" Craig yells, alarmed. He runs into the room, and I peek my head in. I can see why he freaked out. Ruby is lying on the floor face down, obviously collapsed. I rush in after Craig, also afraid for her. "Ruby, are you alright? Come on, talk to me, dammit!" Ruby suddenly opens her eyes and shoots up, scaring both Craig and I.

"Ruby's fine." She says quietly, using Craig's shoulder to pull herself up. She steadies herself, before flashing me her usual smile. "It's alright. Ruby just tripped, and fell asleep because she was too lazy too pull herself up. It's completely alright." I can tell she's lying, but Craig seems to buy it.

"Uh… ok. But are you sure you're not hurt?"

"Ruby's perfectly dandy. Where are all of us going?"

"Home, Ruby. Tweek's coming with."

"Oh… of course." Ruby smiles distantly, as if she just remembered something she forgot. "Tweek, carry me!" She holds her arms out, waiting for me to pick her up. I look at Craig inquiringly, and he nods openly.

"Go on. _I_ don't wanna carry her." I smile at Craig trying to act like he hates Ruby; a minute ago he was flipping out over her. I pick the young girl up, and notice that trance-like look in her eyes. Like when I first met her, and we watched that movie together. Right before that, she did the same thing.

"What d'ya think's wrong with her?" Craig asks, knowing what I was thinking.

"I think… she's just trying to see what's going on."

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Craig frowns in curiosity. I shake my head, smiling. Though I love Craig more than anyone, I know he won't understand Ruby and Kenny's abilities the way I do. Especially concerning Ruby.

"Nothing. I'm just being weird Anyways, shouldn't we go burn those goddamn papers?" I nod excitedly, ignoring Ruby's 'What the hell are you retards talking about?' look. We quickly leave Ruby's room and run into the halls. Craig looks around to make sure the coast is clear, and nods to me when he knows it is. We quickly dodge around the corner of the hall, almost having been spotted by a yawning nurse.

"Man, that was close." Craig says, gently urging me to keep moving. The power suddenly deteriorates, and it feels as if I've gone blind. I can literally not see a thing. Stopping so that I won't trip over, Craig crashes into me, making me almost drop Ruby. She squeals, clinging onto me.

"Craig, I'm sorry. I can't see anything at all."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. At least those idiots finally made the power go out. Come on, hold my hand if you don't want the handcuff to pull at your wrist." I nod, though I doubt Craig can see any more than me at this point.

"Don't you need to adjust?"

"I'll manage. We have to get out of the halls quickly. There must be a lot of staff absolutely freaking out."

"Mmm."

"Let's go, come on. I wanna burn those adoption papers so bad." I nod again, my mood immediately lighting up. CRAIG AND I WON'T BE BROTHERS ANYMORE, SUCKA!

"We're almost there, we're almost there," Craig says excitedly, clearly able to somewhat see now. Me, nothin'. "Oh, fuck." He quickly turns around and cover my mouth before I can say anything. Ruby surprisingly stays silent. "My dad's in there, packing up his stuff." Craig says though his teeth, very quietly. I slump. You have got to be fucking kidding me. I frown when Ruby suddenly squirms out of my arms and lands on the floor perfectly.

"It's alright. I'll distract him." She smiles childishly, looking like an actual little girl.

"B-But you aren't wel-

"Ruby's alright, Ruby's alright!" Ruby reassures us, waving her hand.

"Ruby, is that you?" I hear Mr Tucker ask. He peers his head out the door, to see Ruby standing there. She looks at him indifferently, and he drops his mouth open. "What are you doing out of bed?" Ruby doesn't answer, but instead, turns the opposite way from Craig and I, and runs off. Mr Tucker immediately steps out of his office and chases her. "Ruby? What are you doing? Don't run! Get back into bed!" I can't see anything, just hear, but Craig pulls me into the room, which reveals Mr Tucker's now lit candle.

I look at Craig nervously, "Is she going to be alright?"

"Yeah, she'll be fine." I think of her collapsed on the floor only moments ago. What if it happens again.

"But-

"She'll be fine. Ruby never acts without thinking first. You may be surprised to hear that, but it's true." Craig ushers me into the room. "You use the candle, I'll use the lighter. Start searching through his drawers for those papers." I do as he says, grabbing the candle and beginning to rummage through all Mr Tucker's sheets. Damn, he has a lot. But after a while, a miracle happens.

"FOUND THEM! I've found them!" Craig shouts in triumph. He sets them down and I read them. No doubt, these are my adoption papers. "Let's hurry and burn 'em. Come on, let's do it." I nod, and begin to tear them up. Craig helps me. When we're done, we quickly throw them all in the fireplace (yes, Mr Tucker has a fireplace in here), excluding one piece. Craig happily lights the piece of paper and throw it into the pile. They're let alight fairly fast.

"I can't believe we actually just did that." I comment, blowing out the candle just to annoy Mr Tucker.

"Tweek," Craig suddenly says, looking like he's thinking really hard what to say. "I've always… wanted to say so much to you. But I always messed up and said something 'normal' or 'casual' instead." Craig looks down, avoiding eye contact. "Like… Like whenever I said 'Hey, Tweek', I really wanted to say 'Tweek, you're finally here, standing in front of me. I've been waiting to see you all day; I did nothing but look at the clock in school. And now I'm here!' That's one example. But I could never say something like that. I should've been more straight forward."

"It's alright." Craig looks me at me, surprised. He probably expected me to criticize him, but he was wrong. "I know all this must have been very hard for you. I've always been silently apologizing to you for all this."

"Apologizing!?"

"Well, yes, since this all must've been such a hassle. Especially for someone like you."

"Tweek… I would give anything to repeat those days, when I first met you. You shouldn't be apologizing to me, rather I should be thanking you.

"_Thanking_ me?"

"That day when I first met you, after I left, the feeling I had was so satisfying. As if all the stress and pressure in my life was gone. It was because I'd found a person like you. A person so genuine and kind, that liked me even though you'd known me for about one minute. I was so taken aback."

"No, Craig I should be thanking _you_! You were the first person in the world to accept me without thinking. I didn't even have to try to get along with you. You simply liked me for who I was, and that touched me deeply."

"Well, let's just say we saved each other. Neither of us should thank or apologize to each other, ok?"

"Ok." We both watch the almost completely burned papers disappear. After a few seconds, they're finally gone.

"You're…You're not my brother anymore!" Craig exclaims, excited.

"Ye…Yeah!" I smile warmly at Craig, also happy. We both freeze when we hear voices approaching.

"Ruby, what the hell were you thinking? Why are you even up? A smart lady like you should know better."

"Ruby had things to do."

"Things to _do_? Don't be stupid! And why were you running from me like that?"

"Ruby wanted to play tag."

"Sometimes you amaze me, Ruby." Mr Tucker shakes his head as he walks through the door, carrying Ruby with one arm, on the other side of the office. Craig and I watch him in alarm, afraid to move.

"_Fuck_…" Craig hisses. We both look at each other, frantic. Good thing it's dark, or else Mr Tucker would've seen us straight away.


	15. Chapter 15

Craig slowly yet urgently points to the side of the room, and I understand what he means. Mr Tucker sits Ruby on the desk and starts lecturing her, while she stares at him with a bored look. She looks exactly like Craig when she does that. I edge over to the area near the counter. Craig follows shortly. Our arms are outstretched due to the large distance presently between us.

"HEY!" Mr Tucker suddenly shouts, and my head snaps to see that he's found his wallet on Ruby. I wonder how and _why_ she took it. I glance back at my significant other; and watch in horror as the sudden yell scares Craig so much that he shoots around and knocks over a lone glass with his arm. We both cringe as it smashes onto the floor. Craig and I both automatically duck down as to not be seen. "What the hell?" Hearing Mr Tucker's deadly footsteps approaching, Craig quickly crawls to me, and grabs my collar urgently. He pulls me around the corner, out of sight, _just_ as Mr Tucker looks around the counter to inspect the broken glass. Craig suddenly reaches into my pocket, making me stiffen. He finds the key to the handcuffs and unlocks them.

"The desk, get under that damn desk!" Craig hisses as quietly as possible, pointing to Mr Tucker's desk not far away. Ruby is still sitting on it, giggling at us in this helpless situation. I ignore her and quickly get under the desk, praying that Mr Tucker didn't hear me.

"Ruby, what are you _laughing_ at?" I hear him ask. I impatiently gesture for Craig to get under the desk with me, but he shakes his head. He points in the direction of Mr Tucker, mouthing 'As if I'm gonna risk that!'.

"I'm not laughing at anything." Ruby answers merrily, and I can hear her swinging legs banging on the desk in order to piss me off. She succeeds. I assume Mr Tucker goes back to cleaning up the glass, because Craig decides to sneak over next to me. There isn't room for us both to fit under the desk, so he just sits as close as he can to me, beside the chair.

"Ruby, honestly, you need to start acting more grown up. Denying things is not the answer."

"Yessir!" Craig and I's mouths drop open in alarm as we realize Mr Tucker is coming to sit at the desk. We freeze when he stops at the side of it to continue speaking to Ruby.

"Where's Tweek?"

"Back at the room we were sleepin' in!"

"Don't lie to me! A nurse told me that the security went to get him, and that a kid escaped with him. Who was it? Where are they? Where's Craig? Where's Tweek? Where are my damn sons, Ruby?" I'm no longer your son, Mr Tucker.

"…Closer than you think, daddy."

"Don't give me that! Where are they? And why the hell are you suddenly so much better?" Ruby doesn't answer, and Craig and I watch Mr Tucker's feet appear. Shit, he's gonna kick Craig when he sits down! Not having any other option, Craig scrambles under the desk with me, but since there's not space for both of us, he's basically squished so much on top of me that our noses are touching. HOLY FUCK, MY DREAMS ARE COMING TRUE!

Craig and I flinch when we hear the thump of Ruby jumping from the desk onto the floor.

"I'm angry!" Ruby declares childishly, purposely kicking the side of the desk. It jolts Craig so much that he's forced to kiss me. Great, my first kiss with Craig has ended up like this. We quickly try pull away from each other, blushing. Though, it's a bit difficult to do that, as well as avoid each other's gaze, what with how cramped this damn desk is. Why does Mr Tucker have such a midget desk? He's a psychologist, for God's sake! "Why are you angry, Ruby?"

"Because you won't go away!"

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"Leave! Take me to a bed! I'm tired! Carry me! I want us to leave this room! _Now_!" I frown at Ruby throwing a bunch of commands at Mr Tucker. Is he really gonna listen to a mini-tantrum like that?

"Alright, fine…" Apparently, yes. Mr Tucker sighs, getting up and scooping Ruby up. She yelps at the sudden movements. "But I'm not going to hear another peep out of you today. I'm going to pack up my things, and then we're going home. You hear me?"

"Yes, daddy." As soon as we hear the door shut, we spring away from each other, sprawling out on the floor and breathing heavily.

"Tweek Tweak… I tell you… that was not how I planned for our first kiss to be." Craig states, pushing himself up on his knees.

"Same with me, Craig Tucker, same with me." I reply shakily, dazed at the fact that I actually just kissed him. "Craig, we should g-

I pause in mid sentence when I touch him. His shoulder is trembling. I look up at his face and see that he's frowning his narrowed eyes at the wall, covering his mouth partly. I catch a tint of red still on his cheeks. I waver in disappointment upon seeing him. My hands drops back to my side, and I look at the tiled floor. "You're… having second thoughts, huh? About being with a boy?" Craig's head snaps up, and he looks at me in disbelief.

"Tweek, forgive me for this." I cringe at the words; and suddenly, Craig grabs my collar and makes me face him. He slaps me across the face, though pretty lightly. "Are you a fucking idiot? Having SECOND THOUGHTS!? What are you thinking?"

"B-But, just now, you looked so-

"I was _shocked_, stupid! You have any idea how many times I was forced to kiss Milly? To think," Craig avoids eye contact, thinking of what to say. It's strange for me to see such a change in him. I've never seen him so flushed… and desparate, I guess you could say. This is such a huge transformation from the person I met on 'Bring Your Kid to Work Day'. "To think… doing the same thing with someone I have feelings for… makes such a difference… I can't believe it," I waver at Craig's words. "I was just really happy, that's all. You were saying we need to go, so let's go." I nod in agreement, beyond relieved that Craig still likes me. He was right; I was stupid to assume that.

"But the handcuffs…" Craig hastily shoves them into his pocket, smirking.

"You'll just have to hold my hand, won't you?"

"I see what you did there, you sneaky ass, but alright." I take Craig's hand, and we leave the dimly lit room. I'm stuck by instant blindness, as is Craig.

"Just wait a little. I need to adjust." I hear him say. We wait in silence for a moment, then without warning, Craig bolts around the corner, pulling me with him. By the time we get too the damn stairwell, I've stumbled about ten million times. "Ok, we're gonna have to be really careful here. If you trip, then I'm coming down with you. And then we're screwed." Craig starts to edge down the stairs, and I shortly follow, clinging to both him and the barrister. Craig unfortunately slips and we both tumble down the bottom of that flight. We weren't very high, thank God, but it still hurt. And since I landed on Craig, it must've hurt much more for him.

"Dear God, are you alright?" I whisper. Craig silently pushes himself up, while I try to aid him. "Craig?"

"I'll live. I'm just glad you didn't get injured. Let's continue. We've got one more flight." Despite Craig's objections, I lead the way this time, though I do it much more slowly and carefully than he was previously. We get to the ground floor soon enough. Craig gently pushes his way in front of me and peeks out the door, into the lobby.

"What do you see?"

"It's pitch black in there. Only a little bit of moonlight. The receptionists are all trying to find a flashlight, I think." Craig leans out the door more, stretching his body to be able to see to the opposite side of the lobby. "The camera people are still passed out."

"Let's go, then." Craig nods, slams the door open, and we both start to sprint across the marble floors. Might as well damn ice skate, what with how damn polished they are. None of the ladies notice us, which is lucky. But when we quickly exit the main doors, I stop abruptly. Craig slips, almost falling again.

"Tweek? What is it? It's freezing out here, you know!" I stare at the hospital, strangely re-collective Though I hate this place more than anywhere else in the world, I did basically grow up here. This place has been my home for the past four, almost five years. Despite the wierdness of it, part of me doesn't want to leave. I have a special connection with this hospital, as all the patients do.

I was taught that when I first had to come here.

* * *

><p>"Mr Tweak, your son has severe anxiety. He also stutters, and have you not <em>seen<em> his shaking?"

"Is… is there any way to cure it? Or at least help it?" I looked up at my dad in curiosity. I didn't know the word 'anxiety' then. It wasn't my fault. I hadn't started school yet, due to the shit happening in my family.

"You can give him drugs, but it won't cure it." I felt my dad squeeze my hand harder, and it made me realize whatever was going on wasn't good.

"Then I want them. Whatever's best for my son." Dad hesitated as he said the last part, I remember.

"Yes, I'll prescribe them to you now." The doctor got up and started to do some paperwork. This appointment was not long after I'd began speaking again, so at least my dad could communicate with me.

"You alright?"

"I-I-Is mommy c-coming b-back s-s-s-soon?" He'd told me she was in the hospital, but I'd started to suspect that she was dead. I'd seen her body. I wasn't blind.

"No, she needs to stay in there for a while." I gritted my teeth, glaring at the floor, suddenly furious. I'd never been so angry in my life. How dare he try to lie to me once again about my beloved mommy?

"**You're a liar**," I state, my stuttering temporarily disappearing. The doctor stops writing, and my dad puts a hand on my shoulder, bending down to my eye level.

"What did you say, Tweek?"

"**I SAID YOU'RE A LIAR! YOU LIED TO ME! MOMMY'S DEAD! SHE ISN'T COMING BACK**!" I screamed and pushed him away, leaping off my chair and trying to run out of the room. The doctor suddenly turned into an olympist and grabbed me by the arm. I struggled more than anything, so much that my dad had to come and restrain me as well. I hysterically pulled my arm away from the doctor's grasp and punched my father in the face to get him away from me. I froze in fright when I saw him quivering on the floor, raising a hand to his cheek. The realization hit me. I'd hit my own father, my lovely, nice daddy, in the face.

I burst out crying then, my fury seeping away in a mere second, replaced by a fountain of pure sadness. My dad quickly stood up, took the papers from the shaky doctor with one arm, picked me up with the other, and bolted out of there. When we got home, dad had to wipe my face since I'd been crying so much. I let him, dazed. The way I'd acted earlier was so unusual. But then again, having mom gone was strange to me as well. Dad carried me upstairs, changed me into comfortable clothing, and set me down for a nap. I fell asleep right away.

I awoke suddenly, I think about an hour later, for no apparent reason. I slowly got out of bed and got on all fours, pressing my ear to the fuzzy carpet. After a moment of silence, I decided that yes, my father was indeed speaking to someone downstairs. Arming myself with a stuffed dog, I crept downstairs and peeked into the living room. A cop was speaking to my father.

"Just admit it. He _needs_ to go there."

"But… But it'll traumatize him!"

"This child pushed his mother down the stairs, didn't he? He _has_ to go! We could never let such a child roam the streets!" My dad noticed me watching them, and gestured for me to come over.

"Tweek, say hello to the lovely police man." I did as he said and nodded hello. Barely. The cop stood up and walked closer to me.

"So this is the kid?" I flinched, knowing the cop wanted to 'take me somewhere'. Just as the man was about to touch me, I screamed, staring straight at him. The two men jumped, and I sprinted to my room, still hollering my head off and clutching my stuffed dog as if it were a vital organ.

I basically trashed my room, tearing my blue onesie off during my fit as well, leaving me with only underwear on. Exhausted, I eventually collapsed onto my messed up bed and continued yelling into my pillow. Yelling random things, things that made me happy, things that made sense, things that a five (almost six) year old shouldn't say. I just wanted words to scream out. Once I finally calmed down enough to stop shouting nonsense, I sat up, sprawling my legs out. I took a precious photo of my mom from under my pillow and stared at it for a long time. For a frail second, I'd forgotten her face. I wanted to memorize it forever.

A single tear ran down my cheek, I remember. But other than that, I don't think I cried then.

Wanting to see my father, I rolled off the bed, purposely landing on the floor. I stared at the ceiling for a few minutes, before standing up and wrapping my blankie around myself. It was so big, that there was even enough fabric to cover my head like a little hood. I marched downstairs, confident. Hearing my daddy in the kitchen, I snuck in. He must've heard me come in, but he still pretended to be surprised when I popped out and went 'RAWWRR' like a dinosaur.

"Oh no, it's a dangerous t-rex!" I giggled cheekily, happy he was playing along. Though, soon my father's smile disappeared as he observed me. I dropped my blankie in disappointment, and upon seeing that I'd ripped my clothes off, he lowered his head. "Go to your room, son." He said, not raising it.

"M-Mm!" I nodded in obedience and went back up to my room. I played with my toys for a while, I think, before falling asleep. My dad said he found me face down on the floor, fast asleep in the morning.

* * *

><p>"Tweek," My dad said after dinner the next day. I looked at him inquiringly. "I have a little pill I'd like you to swallow, 'kay?"<p>

"P-Pill?"

"Medicine." I cringed, having never liked medicine. Nevertheless, I nodded, indicating that I would take it. He gave me a little white pill (I'm pretty sure it was a sedative), and a glass of water. Honestly, the first time, I did manage to swallow it, though I gagged a little.

Within minutes, I was passed out in my bed, and when I freaking woke up, I wanted to go back to sleep straight away. I hated that feeling, and I still do; so the next day, I outright refused to take it again. My dad just said 'ok' the first time. But, the day after that, he said I had to take it for else I wasn't allowed to eat dinner. I hated missing dinner, so I hid it under my tongue, and spat it out when he wasn't looking. I did this every day for about a week. My dad saw that the drugs weren't affecting me, so he went and got liquid medicine.

Pft, that sure didn't work out. I full out spat it onto the table the first time he gave it to me. Mostly because of the taste. I figured out that it was going to do the same thing to me as those strange white pills, so in the middle of the night, I took the bottle out of the cabinet, went outside, and buried it in the snow. Dad thought he somehow lost it, so he went and got some more. Knowing that he was just going to get more either way, I decided to show him that no matter what he did, I wasn't going to swallow it. So I smashed the bottle right in front of him; and then went back up to my room. He went and got one more. That one was so easy. I just knocked it over, picked it up again, and poured it down the drain before my dad could stop me.

Having no other option, he took me to that doctor again, and they tried to give me a shot. I won't say exactly what I did, but let's just say they both had a lot of bruises the next day.

Dad let me roam free for the next few days, but then suddenly, he stopped me from playing, put all my things away, and dressed me in 'going-out' clothes.

"Wh-Where are w-w-we going?" I asked timidly, since he looked so solemn.

"Out."

"B-But where?"

"…" Dad didn't answer then. He picked me up and put me in the car, refusing to even make eye contact.

* * *

><p>By the time we got to the mental hospital, I was kicking and screaming because the journey was so long. Any five year old would do that. Dad told me to be quiet, so I shut up. What struck me was that he didn't carry me. Usually when we went to places I didn't know, he would have to hold me. All he did this time was hold my hand and drag me along into the building.<p>

When we got inside, my dad immediately went to the front desk and started speaking with the lady there. I looked around in curiosity, and narrowed my eyes at the security people, watching the cameras intensely. Just what kind of place _was_ this?

"Tweek," I turned back to my dad. "I have to go now. These people are going to take care of you." My eyes widened immensely.

"Wh-What?"

"You're going to stay here for a while, ok?"

"B-B-Bu-

"You're sick." My dad suddenly said in a stern tone. "You need to get better. I can't handle you alone. You need special care; here."

"I-I'll take the p-pills! T-T-Take me home!" I thought it was only going to be for a week; even so, I was still desperate to go home.

"It's alright, son. I'll come back once you're better." That was it. Dad left right after he said that, not even giving me a hug or kiss goodbye. In my shock, a nurse suddenly came up and grabbed me.

"Come on." She said hardly. I stared at her, my emotions in a mix of fear, anger, and outrage. A lady (that nice Sylvia chick) that was at the front desk suddenly stood up. She must've seen my shaking and assumed it was because I was afraid.

"Um, how about I take him up? He seems to be really scared, and we wouldn't want him to snap, would we? It would just encourage the other patients." After a long moment of silence, the nurse gave a small nod. Sylvia smiled and went roud the desk, crouching to my eye level. "Hello, sweetie. What's your name?"

"T-Tweek." I noticed her flinch slightly at who I was, but she didn't comment. Taking my hand, she led me to the elevator. I watched in astonishment as the doors automatically closed. I don't think I'd ever been in one before.

"Come, you need to get some medicine." In other words, I needed to be sedated so I didn't cause trouble. On their first days, kids tend to act out, and that makes other patients act out too. Sylvia led me to the room where kids get their shots. Everyone stared at me for being in normal clothes. I stared back because they were all in the _same_ clothes. A nurse nodded upon seeing me, and gestured for Sylvia to bring me over. Sylvia nodded and brought me closer. "Tweek, would you be a dear and roll up your sleeve?"

"Doesn't this kid act out when you try to give him injections?" The nurse asked doubtfully, surprised I actually listened and pulled up my sleeve.

"He seems to be doing fine now." I didn't know what was going on, but I knew they were drugging me somehow. I just about shit my pants when the nurse hesitantly whipped out a needle. Gasping loudly and trying to run away, I almost fell over in the rush. "Calm down, it'll only hurt for second." Sylvia said reassuringly. I shook my head, screaming internally.

No, _NO_, **NO**!

Before I could even react, the nurse quickly stuck the needle into my arm and injected the sedative. I blinked in amazement.

I don't remember the details of what happened afterwards, but when I opened my eyes, I was in my cell. Sylvia was gone, and all I had was a large array of boys watching me. A boy in my neighboring cell, knocked on the glass separating us. I sat up and weakly went over to him, respecting him since he was slightly older than me. Today I know him as simply Bradley. "Why are you in here?" I shrugged, not completely sure myself. I noticed I was in that white uniform I'd seen on the children earlier. "Do you cut yourself?" I shook my head in surprise. Why on Earth would someone do _that_? "Do you see things others can't see?"

"N-No."

"Ah, so you stutter?" I assumed stuttering was the way I spoke, so I nodded. "Do you have anxiety?" I remembered the doctor mentioning something like that, so I nodded again.

"Oh, that makes sense."

"B-But it's alright. M-M-My daddy's c-coming back to get m-m-m-me when I-I'm better." Lots of the older kids laughed, and the younger ones looked on in bewilderment.

"Wait, so you think he's coming to get you? Hahaha! You're so stupid!" That's when it hit me. My dad wasn't coming back. These kids hadn't seen their parents in a long time. I was stuck in this place forever. Well, that drained my hopes pretty damn quick, I'll say.

"So what's your name?" I looked up into the kid's eyes, having changed from a naive, pompous little kid, into a knowing, realistic person within mere seconds.

"**My name is Tweek Tweak.**"

* * *

><p>"Tweek? Are you alright? Come on, it's freezing out here!" I snap back to reality and look at Craig.<p>

"You're…" Craig frowns, dropping open his mouth and waiting for me to continue. "You're actually here, right? I'm not dreaming right?"

"Huh? What are you talking about?" I shake my head.

"It's nothing. Come on, let's go!" Craig nods, and we begin to look for the other. Kenny suddenly pop out from a bush.

"GUYS!" Craig and I both scream, clinging to each other. "Jesus Christ, you took forever! We're just about goddamn _frozen_ out here!" I notice Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and Butters shivering behind him.

"Where're the stupid duo?"

"I don't know where Token and Clyde are, Craig!" Kenny yells in anger.

"WE'RE HERE! WE'RE HERE!" Clyde and Token suddenly run up behind us, panting.

"Ok, let's get to the damn parking lot. I'm freezing my ass off. Everyone nods, and we begin to make our way over there. I frown in confusion.

"Can one of you drive?"

"Stan can." Kenny answers, stopping all of us outside a car. "Cartman, hurry your ass up and get the keys out. Cartman nods, fumbling in his pocket. He stiffens, before searching in the other pocket. My mouth drops open, and Kenny shakily rubs his temple. "Tell me you didn't lose the keys."

"I-I didn't lose the keys." Cartman says, now shuffling through his jacket's pockets.

"CARTMAN! I CAN'T FUCKING BELIEVE YOU LOST THE DAMN KEYS!"


	16. Chapter 16

**I had a bunch of excuses piled up, and some are pretty personal, but I've decided no one's gonna want to really hear or listen to them. I take forever to update this story, and that's as simple as that. The only main reason I'll give is because, honest to God, this story is the most difficult to write out of all my stories. Frankly, it's so much easier for me to sit down and say to myself stuff like, "…Meh, I'll do 'Positive and Negative' today, and I'll work on 'Insane' on… yeah, I'll have time to do it on Saturday." Or "OH, OH, I just got a shitload of inspiration for 'BLACK VS WHITE'/'Positive and Negative'. 'Insane' will have to wait, because I need to write this all down." Yeah, that's usually how I think most of the time. But I've had enough. I was watching _It's Kind of a Funny Story_, and since that film is one that's set in a psychiatric ward, my mind kept nagging me about this story; I ended up switching off the TV and ripping out my laptop, writing this.**

**Another thing; I understand if you're pissed at me, because I get extremely frustrated with stories that I read that aren't updated. But to be honest, I'm not going to feel like typing for this story if someone tells me to 'hurry the fuck up' or something like that. I'm sensitive, busy, and already have my hands full with school. I don't spend all my time typing on here, and when I do, it's much simpler to just do one of my other stories, that aren't as hard to do. If you were one of those blessed people who asked me nicely to try and get this up as soon as possible, you made me want to write this about x10 more.**

**Last thing: I am _never_ in my right mind going to discontinue this. I have the ending well planned out in my head; I even know the last line. There is going to be one more, maybe two more chapters, depends on how long all the scenes are, and an epilogue (I sort of regret not putting up a prologue, but I just couldn't think of one at the time). So yeah, stop worrying if you think I'm gonna give up on this, because I'm not. My latest story is my favorite right now (I consider the romance and my writing having improved), and I try to concentrate on that one the most, but this one is still cherished more than anything. If this was plagiarized or erased, I wouldn't be able to write it all again, no matter how hard I tried.**

**So yeah, finally here it is…**

* * *

><p>I can't believe it. I just can't believe it. Cartman has lost the key, literally the <em>key<em> to getting me out of here. Dude, that's just not cool! "Cartman, you actually lost them?" Stan asks in disbelief, his hands dropping to his sides. We all slump as Cartman dejectedly nods, shamed.

"Well shit." I say simply, having pretty much given up altogether.

"…You must've just dropped them. I'm sure they're still somewhere in the building." Butters says optimistically, patting Cartman's shoulder to reassure him. Kenny's head snaps up to give him the dirtiest look I've ever seen.

"And what? One of us is gonna search the entire fucking building, while the rest of us freeze to death out here?!" He snaps angrily. Butters looks away, not answering. Kenny immediately looks regretful, but still stands his ground. God, no need to shout.

"Come on, don't fight," I tell them, disappointed that Kenny's acting the most childish out of all of us. I make an attempt to cheer everyone up, though I just want to collapse and cry my eyes out, "I'm sure the keys are very close-by. Someone just… just needs to go and find them, ok? It's not a big deal; let's just all calm down." We all stare at the ground as snow slowly blows onto us, trapped in an awkward silence while we wait for someone to volunteer.

"…Oh whatever, I'll go," Craig eventually says, shrugging dejectedly. "I know my way around that place, so I won't get lost. Plus, Tweek is my responsibility, and I got us into this stupid mess. I'd better go find them."

"No, I can go. I'm-

"You've done enough, Cartman!" Stan says coldly, giving him a grim look. Cartman sticks his tongue out. Craig shakes his head at their stupidity, and begins to hurry back towards the building. I watch him go, appalled. What if he gets caught now? We're all absolutely done for if that happens. Done for, I tell you.

"This is just bullshit…" Kenny murmurs quietly, tugging on the door in misery and nearly slipping on the wet gravel.

"…" We all watch in silence as it opens without any delay. I narrow my eyes, trying not to look pissed off. Kenny stares at the open door for a while, still holding onto the handle. Token coughs, Butters and I shuffle uncomfortably, and Kyle opens his mouth to probably say something like 'Well you're a fucking idiot', but changes his mind and slowly shuts it again, his lips forming into a thin line. Stan hangs his head up, before sighing and thankfully proceeding to chase Craig. I hope he hasn't gone inside yet.

"Well thank fucking God there was some shit head that forgot to lock the car," Clyde eventually remarks, smirking and kicking the thin layer of snow at his feet that's formed in the previous few minutes. Cartman just looks speechless (for once). "We'd better just hot wire it and get the hell out of here."

"Won't the owner wonder where the keys are?" I ask slyly, not wanting to ruin everything just as it's been patched up. Kenny shakes his head, too humiliated to explain to me. Kyle shoots him an inquiring look, briefly making eye contact with the blond, before nodding and explaining for him.

"Kenny's dad will think he lost them, and blame himself. He loses stuff easily when he's…" Kyle hesitates, "When he's been drinking." I don't say anything, and turn to watch silently as Stan and Craig come sprinting back. Craig looks dumbfounded as he sees the open door, and Kenny beginning to climb in and hot wire it.

"Seriously?" He looks like he's lost hope in humanity, "Who was the one who forgot to lock it?"

"Probably me." Stan folds his arms and shrugs his shoulders, "I was the one who took the keys out, since I was driving."

"Yeah, and you made another smart move by giving them to an idiot like Cartman," Kenny mutters, concentrating hard on which wires to connect. Cartman storms forward and kicks him in the nuts. "Fuck!" Kenny tries to sit up immediately, and we all cringe at the deafening thump as he bangs his head. I exhale quietly as he shoots out of the car and just about attacks Cartman. "You asshole!"

"No, you're the asshole! Being such a damn prick to everyone tonight!" They begin to swipe at each other, actually being serious with their fight.

"Whoa, whoa, _WHOA_!" Stan and Kyle shriek and grab Cartman by either side of his shoulders, beginning the process of yelling things like 'Are you crazy?' and 'What the hell are you thinking?' at him. Meanwhile, Butters grabs Kenny by the arm and tries to calm him down, saying that Cartman doesn't mean it and stuff. God, this is all such a waste of time. Token, Craig, and Clyde watch the five, unamused. They come to a conclusion to start getting in the car, because we're all starting to feel our feet go numb. Craig grabs me by the sleeve and forces me into the back as well. We wait in silence for about five minutes, before I lose my temper and ram on the roof.

"Hey! You were all fussing about getting the hell out of here, and now that we can, you guys are getting into p-pointless _fights_!? ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? Come on, let's damn go, you idiots!" They all stand there for a few seconds, before scrambling into the car as if they're escaping hot lava. Butters squeezes into the back with us, since there definitely isn't enough room in the front for five. Craig shoves Clyde and Token to the floor, glaring. He doesn't want me to be uncomfortable, I guess. I glance either side of me at Butters and Craig, feeling awkward sitting in a car with people. I've never been in one of these things with anyone other than my dad and Mr Tucker. Oh wait, I must have been with my mom, but I don't recall it. At the front, since Stan isn't tall enough by about a foot, even with the seat pushed forward, Kenny has to work the gas and brake, while Stan steers. Kyle has been pushed by Cartman down to the floor on the other side, while Cartman resides in has apparent throne, the passenger seat. Everyone looks slightly afraid for their lives.

"Ok, it's finally running," Kenny declares, sighing in relief. He accidentally leans on the gas pedal and the car jolts forward all of a sudden. I squeak and clutch Craig's hand in fright. Butters nearly tumbles forward onto Token, who shouts 'Whoa!' at the sudden movement. Clyde and Craig just yelp in surprise. I peek over to the front, trembling slightly. Kyle and Cartman are shaking their heads at each other knowingly, their lips pursed in irritation.

"Jesus Kenny…" Stan decides to shut up and not make a bigger deal of it than it is. A little freaking mistake. "Whatever, just press on it again. _Slower."_ Kenny does as he's told and pushes on the gas slowly, making the car move at a suitable speed. Stan quickly puts it into reverse and peers over his seat.

"Stan, I don't know why you bother. It's not like you're going to be able to see anything with this storm." Kyle says, smiling in disbelief.

"Shut up, Kyle. You always need to look back no matter what." Stan says, trying to concentrate. Kyle's smirk vanishes, much to Cartman's amusement.

I exhale as we finally get out of the parking lot and onto the road. "…There's a lot of ice, so we might slip off the road a few times." Stan sees my expression in the rear view mirror, and laughs shakily, "Don't worry, it'll be like pulling over; really fast pulling over." Gee, thanks Stan. That makes me feel so much better. "Besides, Tweek, you're in the middle. If we were in a crash, you'd be the least hurt." Everyone gawps at Stan, before looking away.

Cartman taps his knee lightly, already bored. Kyle begins doing it too, and then Stan, and then even Kenny. It soon escalates into some kind of drumming session, with Kyle and Kenny thumping on the floor, Cartman banging on the dashboard, and Stan honking on the damn horn. Butters begins humming to the somewhat continuous beat, but the other three just shake their heads. Craig eventually loses his temper and yells, "OH MY _GOD_! SHUT THE HELL UP ALREADY!" They all immediately stop, having had their fun ruined. "You're all so annoying. It never stops!"

They all pop their heads over/behind the seats and stick their tongues out at Craig rudely. I blink, before glancing at Butters. He smiles at me genuinely, and I immediately know this isn't unusual.

Suddenly seeing a figure on the road, I absolutely flip out.

**"LOOK OUT! FUCK!"** I scream, leaning forward and trying to reach the wheel, scaring Stan.

"Jesus!" He sees and immediately swerves to the other side of the road, making us all shriek. "The hell was that? Someone hurry and check out the skylight!" Token sighs, standing up and peeking outside.

"…What in the world?" He exclaims, "Hey, hey, pull over! Someone's out there!" He tells Stan. Kenny slams on the brake suddenly, making us all lurch forward. It nearly knocks the wind out of me. Craig slowly puts his hand on Cartman's seat, pushing himself away from it.

"Fucking fuck. Not again." He mutters, clutching his bleeding nose.

"Someone just freaking go out and see what it is." Kenny says tiredly. Craig and I exchange looks, before both getting out.

I begin shivering immediately, "God, it's so cold…" We hurry over to where we've already driven on the road, nearly slipping like a million times. I stop in my tracks when I see Ruby standing there dumbly. Craig keeps walking, having not noticed her.

"Ruby, what the fuck, and I mean what the _fuck_, are you doing all the way out here?" I question her, unable to comprehend this.

"Huh? Tweek? Where's Ruby? What?" Craig turns around, trying to see what I'm seeing. "I think you're getting sick again. There's nothing there."

I ignore him and keep speaking to her. I don't care what she is right now – I'm suspecting she's somehow time-traveling like earlier or something – but I want to know what the heck she's doing. "Why are you here?"

"Ah… sorry, sorry. Ruby didn't mean to scare everyone. She's… I'm the Ruby from three weeks ago. She… _I_ wanted to see if Tweek- you managed to escape. Truly sorry!" She gives me a farewell wave and vanishes with the wind, leaving me gaping with an open mouth.

"Tweek? Tweek, what the hell are you doing? Come on, there's nothing here. You've gotten so sick now," Craig guides me back to the car by the sleeve, worried that I might die or something. I wish he didn't treat me like some kind of gem. It's flattering, but at the same time, it pisses me off. It's like Marlin with Nemo in freaking 'Finding Nemo'.

"So what was it?" Clyde asks as we pile back inside the car. Craig shoots me a look, so I decide not to say anything.

"Nothing, absolutely nothing."

"Huh? I could have sworn someone was there," Token protests, baffled.

"Well you were seeing things, so shut up." Craig says indifferently, motioning for Stan and Kenny to start driving again. I glare at him for not listening to reason.

* * *

><p>Stan was nearly caught with the uniform on by his mom. His sister ratted him out loud enough for the neighborhood to hear, but he must've somehow been able to change into his pajamas fast enough to make it look like she was lying. Even though he's been gone for over 24 hours, I'm sure he should be able to play it off he was just at someone else's house.<p>

Kenny, Craig, and I are the only ones left now. Kenny's barely tall enough to drive by himself, but he has to stretch out a lot, and I have a suspicion we aren't exactly driving very straight. As soon as the car stops, Craig immediately gives him a nod in thanks and drags me out with him. I don't have much time to take in the completely normal scenery of the neighbourhood. I haven't seen such a thing in a while.

He puts a finger to his lips at the back door, silently telling me to be quite. I nod tiredly. It's about six in the morning. Maybe a little earlier. He opens the back door; we both wince as it screeches. "Craig!?" We hear his mom shout from upstairs.

"Stay here." Craig whispers, sitting me down outside. He goes in, ready to bravely face his mother.

"Craig! It _is_ you! Where were you, young man? Your father called, and he said you'd disappeared with Tweek. Where is he?"

"Tweek's back at the hospital. Call and check if you don't believe me." I exhale. Thank God we thought of using Pip as a fake.

"Where's your father? And Ruby? How on Earth did you get home?"

"…I hitch hiked. They're probably still on their way."

"Why the hell didn't you just wait and go with them?"

"'Cause." Nice explanation, Craig. '_Cause_.

"…You're in trouble, young man. First you get kicked out of school, and now this!"

"Can I just go to bed? I'm tired." After a short silence, I hear a sigh, footsteps, and the slamming of a door. Craig pops out of the back door; I open my mouth to scream from the shock, but he quickly covers my mouth. "Shh, shh, _shhh_!" He releases me soon enough. "Come on, you need some medicine."

"What? No I don't!" I hiss as we go inside.

"Tweek, don't fuck with me. You were freaking hallucinating out there."

"Dude, I'm not sick. And Token saw it as well!"

"Yeah well, Token's a bullshitter." Craig says, switching the light on and fumbling in a little cabinet.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm looking for medicine. You have the biggest cold in the history of colds,"

"What are you, a doctor? I'm fine!" I snap a little too loudly.

"SHH!" I reluctantly shut my mouth, folding my arms and leaning against the counter. I scowl at the little package of pills, as Craig fills a glass of water. He sets it down and fumbles with the package, trying to get some out. Holding out two, he gives me the glass of water. "Go one, take the pills as well."

"I'm thirsty, not sick," I inform him, drinking like half of the glass just to spite him. I think we're just both being moody because we're tired. "So stop trying to make me take them."

"Come on, don't be a baby," Craig tries to make me take them again. An image of my father doing the same thing flashes through my mind, and my eyes widen. I slowly place the glass down on the counter next to me, horrified. Craig watches in surprise as I grab the package and throw it to the floor, stomping on it in a moment of fear. And thus, crushing all the pills inside. I pick up the crumpled package, huffing, and put it back on the counter, hoping Craig gets my message. He does. Sighing, he throws the pills in his hand and the package in the garbage, having no other use for them.

"…I'm so sorry, Tweek." He says, for once sounding completely sincere. I refuse to make eye contact, still mortified, "If you're sick later, then we'll think of something else, okay?" I nod, licking my dry lips. I'm so fucking scared, I can't even find the words. We've only been here for like three minutes and we're already fighting. What if it's all down hill from here? What if-

"Well come on," Craig says, smiling and gesturing upstairs. "You're tired, right? You can sleep, if you want. I'll lock the door, so no one will walk in, ok?" Ok, there's no way that's happening. Craig is too kind for that.

"Uh, yeah. Alright." Craig takes my hand and leads me upstairs. I notice him quivering slightly. "You okay, Craig?"

"I'm fine. I just can't believe I'm taking you into my room." Well, way to put it bluntly. He practically shoves me in, before quickly locking the door. "Safe!" He exclaims, throwing his arms up. I glance around shyly, worried that we're somehow being watched.

"Won't your mom hear?"

"My room is basically sound proof. It was built with extra-thick walls for some reason. Don't worry."

"Oh… then, H-HELL YEAH I'M _SAFE_!" I laugh gleefully, this being the first time I've joyfully yelled out loud. Usually it's just because I'm upset. I think for a few seconds. "…But what are we going to do, Craig?"

"You can… you can stay here with me, alright? This'll work for now; I'm sure of it," Craig says, sounding like he's trying to convince himself more than me. "E-Even if it takes until you're an adult, Tweek, I'll hide you. Maybe not always in my room, but I'll hide you somewhere. I'll never, ever let you go back to one of those places. It isn't right," He states, sitting on his bed stiffly. I watch him, in pain from seeing him in such crisis. "It isn't right." He repeats.

"Craig," He glances at me, sniffing slightly. "We… I don't care if we're kids, or teenagers, or we're adults – I'm not going to pretend it's as if you can hide me forever. Frankly, we'll be lucky if this lasts even a month. But I don't care. This is more freedom than I could have ever wished for. And to be honest, I don't know if I'm going to be okay on the outside anyhow. It's hard enough for adults that are institutionalized; imagine for a kid like me."

"But Tweek you're norma-

"I'm unstable. I'm not insane, though I might've been a little when I was smaller, but still, even now, I'm unstable. I could have a breakdown, a panic attack, or a freak out from anxiety any second in this place. I'm not accustomed to it. But again," I smile reassuringly, "I don't give a damn. I must… enjoy it as long as possible. As long as I can handle it all."

* * *

><p>"Fuck." I wake up to Craig cursing to himself. I sit up, dazed.<p>

"What's wrong?" I whisper, and he shoots around, startled that I'm awake.

"My dad and Ruby have come home." We freeze as we hear footsteps slamming on the stairs. "Shit, Tweek, hide!" I shoot out of bed, tripping on the duvet and toppling over. Craig bends down and helps to pull me up he ends up tripping and we're both then tangled in the blanket. "Fuck, fuck, fuck," Craig kicks it away from his feet and hoists me up by the waist, searching for a good hiding place. Mr Tucker starts knocking on the door.

"Craig," We exchange glances, freaked out, "Craig Tucker, I need to have a word with you."

"Uh… go away, dad. I wanna sleep more." Craig says, and I stare at him. He shrugs, unable to have thought of anything more convincing. His dad tries to open the door, but obviously fails.

"Open the door." He orders, trying not to sound angry. Craig ignores him and continues looking around for a hiding place, "CRAIG, OPEN THIS DOOR RIGHT NOW!"

"Dad, leave me alone! God!" Craig says, checking for space under the bed, but to no avail, I'd be seen if I hid under there.

"Craig, if you don't open this door right now, then you can kiss Stripe goodbye! The neighbor's daughter is very fond of him, I tell you." Craig's mouth drops open; he shoves me beside the door way and unlocks the door. My confused face is just about squashed by that fucking block of wood. It takes all my strength to keep my mouth shut tight enough as to not make a sound. I can it's also pretty damn hard for Craig not glance at me every two seconds.

"What do you want?" Craig demands, pretending to look unfazed.

"Where's Tweek?" He raises an eyebrow. "Craig, I know you escaped with him. Where the hell is he?"

"I didn't escape with anyone."

"Don't lie to me. Where is he? There's no way you left him there."

"…Well I did. Call the place. They'll say he's there, locked in a padded cell. Go on, do it. Or do you want me to?" Mr Tucker doesn't say anything, but I guess he finally believes Craig, 'cause he walks out of the door not long after. Craig shuts the door, and I blink at him. "Was it that suspicious?"

"Well, h-he didn't say anything, so he's probably not going to search your room or anything."

"Mhm. Well, he was up all night, so no doubt, he's gonna be sleeping the rest of the day. It's uh," Craig glances at his alarm clock, "It's twelve now. You still tired? Do you want to sleep some more?"

"No, I should be fine. Didn't you sleep at all?" I don't recall Craig being next to me when I fell asleep.

"I read some comics for about an hour, then slept next to you a little, but only for a couple of hours."

"Aren't you tired?"

"I'll live. Do you want to take a shower?"

"…Huh?"

* * *

><p>"…Is this alright?" I ask, pausing. Craig stares at me clutching the hem of my shirt. He said we have to shower while being in the bathroom at the same time, because if Craig is seen outside while I'm in the bathroom… well, we're fucked.<p>

"Uh, yeah sure. Why the heck wouldn't it be?" He asks apathetically.

"'Cause, uh, when you saw me shirtless at that meeting on the roof…" Craig's expression immediately changes. He looks like he wants to go crawl in a hole and die.

"That… was a fucking misunderstanding. And Kenny was being this huge prick, going 'HAHA! He has a nosebleed!' I'm sorry to disappoint you Tweek, but it wasn't because of you. I'd friggin' tripped earlier, right onto my face, and the blood decided to start gushing out of my nose right at that moment. Where the hell do you think," He moves some hair out of the way and shows me his forehead properly, "This bruise came from?" I shrug.

"Fucking Kenny, ramming into people's business. I would I was smart enough to ram into _his_ business for once."

"Ah, yeah," I silently take off my shirt, "You aren't looking, right?"

"Grow up; we're both boys."

"Yes, both boys that are attracted to each other!"

"I'm not looking, ok? Jesus…" I narrow my eyes at Craig, whose dejectedly studying the bruise on his forehead in the mirror. I practically leap into the shower and quickly pull the curtain closed, suspicious. "Tweek, for God's sake," I hear Craig mutter, "You-

"Craig!? Are you talking to someone in there?" Craig bolts over to me, opening the curtain and glancing at the door anxiously.

"What do you want, mom? I'm in the shower!" He yells, snatching the bar of soap from me and dropping it. "Ah, mom! You made me drop the soap!"

"It sounded like you were _talking_ to someone." His mom says, still sounding skeptical.

"Haven't you heard of people talking to themselves? God, mom." Craig glances at me, wincing at my glare. This is like an invasion of my personal fucking bubble.

"Young man, I'm coming in." Craig's mouth drops open, and he quickly beckons me to make room for him. He quickly tugs off his hat and chucks it next to my discarded clothes. Pretending to peek his head behind the curtain for modesty, he glowers at her. I stand completely still, covering my own mouth tightly. "Since when would you do things like that? Craig, ever since you've come back from that godforsaken nut house, you've been so damn suspicious. Your father thinks you're hiding Tweek, and now I'm beginning to think so too!"

"Well I'm not." Craig declares, narrowing his eyes. There's a long silence - all that's heard is the water running – before Craig's mom finally scoffs and walks out, obviously not truly believing his lie.

As soon as I hear the door shut, I begin to shriek and shove Craig away. "Alright, _alright_, I'm sorry!"

"Gawd, don't you know how it feels for someone like me to have someone barge in while I'm showering!?" I shriek, beyond pissed.

"What the hell was I supposed to do?"

"I don't know – but not that!" Craig holds his hands up like 'oh, back away, we got a badass here' and turns around. I glare at him through the mirror, but he ignores me. I sigh, spinning around and trying to finish this blessed shower; I slip on the goddamn soap. "AH! FUCK!"

"Whoa! Are you ok?" Thank God I grabbed the curtain and it came down with me, and is covering my very visible ass. I lift my head out of the shallow amount of water, glaring venomously.

"No. No, I'm not." I answer, standing up, "T-TURN AROUND! AND CLOSE YOUR EYES!" Craig turns around again, shaking from the irritation. After successfully reattaching the curtain, I pick up the vexatious soap, glaring at it. "Asshole." I mutter to it, not caring if Craig thinks I'm talking about him.

When I eventually finish and begin fumbling with a new set of clothes, Craig finally glances at me. "You can go and talk to Ruby while you're waiting, if you want." I pull a shirt over my head and gawp at him.

"But what if-

"My mom is busy making lunch for her, so she won't bother any of us. And if you do hear her coming, there's a lot of things in Ruby's room to hide behind, so you shouldn't worry." Craig waits until I'm finished brushing my teeth, before practically chucking me out of the room. He thinks I called him an asshole, that's why. I slump, actually feeling sort of guilty. Maybe I should tell him that in reality I was insulting a bar of soap… maybe not. I facepalm at myself, before cautiously stalking into Ruby's room. I gape at the scenery. Well… she loves pink. And stuffed toys. Dear God, how she must love stuffed toys. I approach her bed, where's she's currently resting. I've never really seen her like this. She looks really sick. Man, she must have really used up all she had these last few days. I hope she'll be okay…

"Tweek?" She blinks at me, half-asleep.

"Uh, yeah, it's me." I kneel next to her bed, being at a better height to talk to her.

"So Tweek managed to escape?" She asks weakly, and I nod.

"Mm… it's a great feeling, to be free like this." Ruby doesn't say anything, obviously not able to relate to such a thing. She has a small coughing fit, and clutches my hand for some support. I console her, and she rests back down onto her pillows, closing her eyes.

"Ruby?"

"Mm?"

"I ran into you on the road earlier. Your past self. Why were you there?"

"…That Ruby told you. Wanted to see… if Tweek had escaped."

"But you barely knew me then. You'd just met me… was it when we were sitting on the couch, and you just drifted off? I saw you I that daze… is that what you were doing?" She gives me a small nod.

"Ruby liked Tweek. Wanted to see his fate. Went to wrong time…"

"Where were you meant to go? How long? A week later? A month? A year?"

"A secret." I sigh, the curiosity biting at me. How long am I going to have to wait for all this? I don't want to think things aren't going to get better until a while to come. What happens between now and then? _What happens?_

"Hey, Ruby…?" I shut up when I realize she's gone to sleep, unable to have lasted long talking to me. I hear yelling downstairs, and someone coming up. I practically dive behind a large stuffed bear, terrified.

"Tweek, it's just me." Craig says, smirking at how fast I bolted. "I have to go and buy some medicine for Ruby now, since my mom 'misplaced' it." He informs me, motioning stomping on the floor. I flush, remembering my embarrassing acts earlier. God, I could have just freaking thrown them away, couldn't I? "And well, you're going to have to come, ok? Maybe you can visit your mom while you're at it." I blink at the suggestion. Me?

"Wouldn't you want to come?"

"Well, not this time. I think it's probably your business, Tweek. I can come back and give Ruby some of the medication while you're busy. Don't worry; you won't get caught there. Hardly anyone visits, since it's a small town."

"If that's ok with you."

"Yeah, uh, are you hungry?" He asks dumbly. I smile at such a random question.

"No, not really. I… I think you were right about me catching a cold. I'm starting to not feel that good."

"…Well we'll cross that bridge when we come to it." Craig puts his hands in his pockets and shrugs, motioning for us to leave the room. I guess he wants Ruby to have some peace. "My mom's in the kitchen, so we have to go through the front door. Here," He gives me a green hoodie, "Put this on, and keep the hood on while we're in public places." I obey, pulling it over my head. He grabs my arm and pulls me downstairs, glancing around.

"Wait here." He tells me, venturing out of the front door. I nod silently, leaning back on the wall and indeed waiting. I hear his mom dropping something in the kitchen – she curses – and exhale. "Tweek, coast is clear. Come on!" Craig hisses from outside.

"Uh, right!" I come out quickly, spotting him walking his bike out of the garage, and hurry over. "I thought we were walking…" I comment quietly, staring at Craig's apparent mode of transport. Is he kidding? I don't know how to ride!

"Tweek, you don't have to ride it by yourself," Craig snickers, somehow reading my mind, "I'm riding it."

"What, and I run by? I don't know about you, but I think that looks damn suspic-

"You're going at the back, retard," Craig shakes my shoulder jokingly, "I'll ride it, but you've gotta sit at the back and hold on tight. It's either that or you use my old big wheel." I roll my eyes and proceed to get on. I hate it when Craig treats me like the biggest dumbass in the world – which I am. I just don't like to be reminded…

I observe him counting money in his wallet, shuffling around. He finally finishes, shutting the piece of leather and pocketing it. "Are you sure about this?" I inquire, eyeing the large contraption.

"More than I've ever been. Come on, Tweek. As if I'd let anything happen to you."

"Say the person who barely reacted at all when I fell in the shower."

"Hey, don't start. Hurry and get on, before my mom wonders what the hell I'm doing."

* * *

><p>"Uh, we're here now, man." Craig finally tells me. It's been an eternity of me clinging to him like some kind of monkey and shutting my eyes so that I don't have to watch how fast we move. I'm not used to traveling like this; so damn fast. At least in a car it's nice and secure. On these fuckers you could fall any second. "Was it that bad?" I nod, hopping off shakily and whimpering. Craig quickly locks the thing, before taking a step towards me and pulling up my hood. I notice his fingers linger ever-so-slightly, and wonder if Craig really wants to be more alone with me. We stand there in silence for a few seconds, but Craig soon breaks it by going, "Let's just do this. You want to come in, or wait outside?"<p>

"Erm, I'll come." Craig nods, holding the door open for me. I scowl at the floor; tiles. White ones. Craig hurries over to a section with many different kinds of pills, scanning for the correct ones. He scoops up a pack, reading the contents.

"I think this is the right one. Both you and Ruby can take it, and they're really small." Craig sees my face, and quickly adds, "B-But you don't have to. We can just think of something else." As we walk to the counter, I think hard. If Craig's going through this trouble of worrying for me, I could at least try, right? Yeah…

"I'll take them." I state as the cashier is calculating the money. Craig turns to me, taken aback.

"What?"

"I'll try to take some pills. I, um, I know you're worried, so just to make you feel better…"

"Well don't force yourself," He tells me, handing the money to the cashier without taking his eyes off of me. "Pressuring you wouldn't be good."

"No, it's my choice. Let me try." Craig shrugs, taking his change and the pack from the counter and waving his regards to the employee. I'm far too shy. As we walk out of the door, Craig scoffs.

"You need to eat something first."

"Huh? But I'm not hungry!"

"Come on, I'm hungry now anyway. You can just try to eat something, ok? You don't have to finish." Craig mutters, pulling me by the sleeve towards a traffic light. I sigh, having no choice but to do as he wishes. We silently wait to cross as a mother and a little girl, about three, come by to wait as well. I notice the girl doesn't speak at all, and neither does the mother. That's weird. I don't ever recall silent moments with my dad when I was young. He was always so chatty, as was my mom.

…then the worst happens.

The girl sees a toy store across the street, and is intrigued by a large teddy bear on display, pointing to it excitedly. Before her mom can stop her, she tugs her hand away from her mother's and begins to run across the street. She must feel the vibrations from the sound of the truck honking at her, because she stops smack-bang in the middle of the damn road. She stares at the fast approaching truck, about five times her height, and her eyes widen in fright. I quickly glance at Craig, who's staring in astonishment, and come to an immediate decision. As fast as lightning, I shoot forward to the girl, grab her around the waist, and quickly pull her back just in time. We smash at the side of the road, me half on the sidewalk. I sit up, in a daze, not hearing a voice in the background. I blink a few times, registering what's going on, and look at Craig.

"Jesus fucking Christ! That was insane! What were you thinking!? Are you _okay_!? Answer me!"

"Shut up, Craig, I'm fucking fine!" I snap at him furiously, recovered. The girl is the one he should be worrying about!

"Are you hurt?" I ask the girl gently, ready to give her a huge lecture. She stares at me blankly, having burst into tears a few seconds ago. Oh… now I see. I point to my ears and shake my head questioningly, and she nods. I was right – she's deaf.

'Are you alright?' I gesture to her, and she nods. 'Are you injured?' She shakes her head no, breathing heavily. Her mother recovers from the shock and helps her up, weeping. The mom looks absolutely stricken, speechless, and doesn't say anything to the girl. Just holds her in an embrace. She let's go after a few seconds, preparing to give her a talking-to. Craig and I watch as she says nothing. I guess it's hard to tell off your child that's just nearly died. If I wasn't here, then she'd be splattered on the road. Seeing that the mother isn't going to say anything, I stand up quickly, grab the girl by the shoulder, and turn her around to face me. I glower at her still sniffling face, not caring that my hood has fallen off.

"Stop your crying," I tell her coldly, using sign language and words at the same time. "You scared us all a lot. Say 'sorry' to your mommy," I point at her mom angrily, "Because you made her very sad."

'I'm sorry.' The girl soon signs to her mom. The mom smiles shakily and forgives her. Craig pulls me up as they share their mother-daughter moment, still pissed.

"Tweek, I'm glad you saved her, but my God, you scared the crap out of me!" He scolds, shaking me. "I thought for a second that… that you were…"

"That I was trying to kill myself again." I finish for him icily, pulling my hood back on and storming away. It's the best thing to do; if the news get a hold of me or something, then I can kiss this freedom goodbye.

"Tweek, wait a minute!" Craig quickly catches up and grabs my arm to stop me. I give him a look. "A-Alright, I know it was dumb of me to think that, but it was sudden! I'm fucking sorry, alright?"

"Mmm." I pull my arm away and continue walking, still annoyed that he would think that. Craig continues giving me excuses as we trudge down the sidewalk.

"Tweek, you tried to kill yourself with safety scissors. That's desperate to die, isn't it? So you shouldn't really blame me for thinking that."

"That was ages ago! And I was just trying to cut myself – not to die!"

"Yeah right. Don't lie to me." Craig looks appalled, and I pause for a second. Why did I try to slash my wrist like that? I didn't really think about why; I just did it. I mean, now that I really think about it, I don't believe I actually wanted to die. I just wanted… I just felt…

"I'm not lying." I tell him quietly.

"What? Are we being serious, Tweek? Come on, why the hell would you want to-

"Because I felt totally worthless, alright?!" I blow my lid, fuming at him for not somehow magically understanding me. Craig stares, puzzled. "I remember now, I remember it all! I thought there was something wrong with me because you didn't instantly like me the way I liked you. I thought that no one liked me. I just hated myself for those few minutes, alright? You fucking get it now, you perfect, typical, town boy!?" I glower at his shocked expression, sickened by the fact that I needed to explain this to him.

"Tweek… I'm sorry I don't get how you feel. We're just a little different, ok? Calm down." Craig reassures me, patting me on the back as a sign of comfort. "I think you need some time to think. Why don't you go buy some flowers," He points to a flower shop down the street, "And visit your mom? I'll go home and tend to Ruby. I'll take my time, so you can talk to her all you want. I'll come find you, ok? And then we can get something to eat. Ok?" The way his words soothe me makes it feel as if he's the only one in the world that cares. The only one that bothers.

"I really love you…" I whisper under my breath, staring at the ground, paralyzed.

"Huh?"

"…Nothing. Where's the cemetery?"

"Go to the end of the road, take a right, and then a left." He gives me some money, "For the flowers. Just ask the cashier for anything. They'll know what to give you. Alright?"

"Alright."

"Be careful." Craig gives me one last pat and begins to stride away. My eyes widen when I hear him murmur, "…Likewise." I'd rather not get my hopes up about what he means.

The bell dings as I open the door to the flower shop, making me flinch. I glance around at all the beautiful flowers, not seeing any people around. I stop moving, mesmerized by a bunch of colourful flowers resting in a pretty glass vase. I'm not a chick, but even I know they're one of the best bouquets of flowers you'll ever see. I look around more, noticing similar looking ones, but different colours.

"Can I help you?" I shriek, spinning around and nearly knocking the masterpiece over.

"I'm sorry! You scared m-

I stop talking when I see who it is. That nice Sylvia lady, from the hospital. What the hell is she doing here? She recognizes my faces and covers her mouth.

"Tweek Tweak?"

"… Mhm…" I look away, not sure how to feel.

"I'm so shocked… you actually escaped? There's a fake back at the mental institute?"

"Yeah. Why are you here?" She laughs at the way I ask her, as if she would never belong in such a place.

"My mom owns the shop. She makes me work here a lot."

"But you already have a job!" I exclaim, bewildered. "Aren't you tired? You were up there last night."

"Nah, I slept when I came home for a few hours. Besides, this job isn't tiring or anything."

"…How old are you?" She smiles at the unusual question.

"I'm twenty-three. Do I look that old?"

"No, I've just never really taken in how young you really are… I need some flowers." She tilts her head in curiosity, smiling.

"Oh? For whom?"

"Um, my mom." Sylvia's smile falters slightly. "I'm visiting her grave for the first time, and Crai- I thought it would be good to bring her some."

"Oh yes, you have that nice mom of yours, of course. Um… this one would be good." She points to a small bouquet, that doesn't look too extravagant or expensive.

"Ok, but… not white."

"Haha, alright. How about this one?" She points to a bunch that are different shades of purple, and I instantly nod.

"They're good. Uh, how much do they cos-

"Free of charge." I gawp at the young woman, surprised.

"No, I-

"No, Tweek. I'd feel bad for making you pay for these. Consider these my gift, okay? Tell your mother they're a very special present." I take the flowers, still unsure. Sylvia ushers me along.

"Go on, it's fine. Come back soon, alright? Don't get caught, or else I'll miss such lovely company, alright?"

"Yeah, sure."

I leave the shop, puzzled. That was weird. I take my time following Craig's directions, not wanting to get lost. Upon finding the location, I search around for my mom's grave, quickly finding it. Placing the flowers down, I take a step back and pull off my hood, wanting to at least seem earnest.

"Mom… it's been such a long time. You won't believe the things that have happened to me. I have so any things to tell you, mom. You see, I…


	17. Chapter 17

…And then this idiot named Clyde comes out of nowhere and grabs me, pulling me out of the room shirtless. And he finds out I know his name, right? And then he bows to me like I'm some kind of freaking god!" I pause with my rambling, realising how I've gotten a bit off track with relaying the events I've been through to my mom. "Ah, sorry. I got a bit off topic. But really, I've had a lot of stuff happen to me recently, and it's been so sudden. I don't care though… I know Craig cares a lot about me."

"I sure do," I jump and spin around, frightened. Craig smirks at how much he shocked me, and steps forward, praying for my mom. "Continue," He tells me, still in the middle of it. I realize I was gazing at him a bit too long, and listen to his suggestion of resuming my conversation.

"…And yeah, you've seen for yourself now, mom," I smile excitedly, "Oh, and do you like your flowers? Hope so. I got them from a lady that works at the institute. But apparently she also works part time at the flower shop. She's really nice. Those flowers are a very special present from her, she said." Craig looks at me, puzzled.

"A lady from the institution?" He asks warily. Oblivious to his suspicions, I nod.

"Yeah, that nice receptionist lady."

Craig glances around with caution, before asking, "Did she… did she recognise you?" I shrug.

"Well yeah, but-

"_Tweek_! If she tells-

"Don't worry, I'm sure she won't. She sort of helped us anyway. She gave us directions in the air vents, so that means she's on our side, right?" Craig sighs.

"Adults don't take these kinds of sides, Tweek. You do realise we all broke the law by helping you escape, right?" I hesitate, never actually having thought of it from such a perspective, "…But whatever. As long as you trust her." I smile at him again, before turning back to mom's grave.

"I think Craig wants to spend some time with me now," Craig cringes in humiliation, shuffling his feet, "It was really nice talking to you, mom. Bye, I love you."

Craig brings me back to the café and asks if I'm a little hungrier now. I'm not, and he probably knows that, but he forces a smile and says he'll buy me something. He tries walking me to a booth, but I decide not to burden him for once and tell him to go to the cashier and order something. I sigh as I take a seat, unable to believe I was free, sitting in a café with no supervision. A year ago, it would've been too bizarre to ever consider for myself.

_Just how the hell did this all happen? _I think for a few seconds, deciding what's different.

The occurred changes, I've concluded, are as follows: Craig happened. Friends happened. And my want for independence happened.

"Whatcha thinking so hard about?" Craig asks curiously, flicking me on the head as he sets a muffin down in front of me, "Didn't even notice me coming." I laugh stupidly at myself as Craig slowly slides in the seat across from me, an eyebrow raised.

"Just stuff." I replied to his question, searching for anything in a cup, "No drinks?" Craig murmurs something about them calling his name when the drinks are ready, "Oh really? C-Cool system."

"Are you nervous, Tweek? You really seem uncomfortable."

"No, I'm fine – I-I'm just not used to things like this. It sort of feels… it's _not_, but… feels like, uh–

"Like what?" I can see Craig growing impatient, fiddling with his receipt.

"Like this is a d…date?" Craig immediately avoids eye contact, flushed in embarrassment. He quickly gets up when a woman at the counter calls out his name, eager to escape, if just for a few seconds. A steaming cup of sweet-smelling stuff is set in front of me, seeming similar to coffee, "What is this?" I ask leaning forward and eyeing it closely.

"It's just hot chocolate, Tweek," He sees my puzzled expression, "Kiddy coffee, I guess." As I'm making Craig look up the ingredients on his phone, I see something shocking out of the corner of my eyes. Pip is sitting at a table with a family. I gasp and begin to shake, "Tweek, why are you staring at those people? Hey," He makes me look at him, "What's wrong?" I catch another glimpse of the child, and no longer see Pip's face on him. I was imagining it.

"I'm being paranoid," I assure him, checking the kid's face once more to make sure, "I'm fine, really." An awkward silence forms, with Craig already finishing his hot chocolate and mine barely touched, "I thought you were hungry too, Craig."

His excuse comes like lightning, "I lost my appetite." I frown, snatching his wallet, "Hey!" I look inside and see no money. My muffin is unfortunately already eaten.

"If you didn't have enough money, you should have told me, and we could've shared!" I scold him, feeling guilty.

"I'm sorry, Tweek." He apologises simply and sensibly.

"…I can take some pills now."

"I really don't think it's a good idea." He tells me, unsure. I bang on the table adamantly, though it doesn't even make him blink, "…Fine." Craig watches carefully as I tear the little box open and squeeze out two small cold pills. My fingers shakily take one and chuck it in my mouth. Before I can even reach for my drink, the taste is already too much, and my body automatically spits it into a napkin, "Swallow all your saliva, Tweek. And put it on the back of your tongue." I follow his instructions for the second pill and immediately grab my drinking, taking a large sip. The pill surprisingly goes down. The same process is repeated with a new third pill Craig pulled out for me, with no incident.

_I can't believe it._

I blink in shock.

_I willingly took pills. Without someone holding me down. _

"What are you kids doing?" We turn surprised eyes to an officer standing in the booth on the adjacent side to ours, peeking over the glass, "Are you addicted to pills? No one's taking drugs on my watch!" Before I can understand what he's implying, Craig has grabbed my sleeve and is pulling me out of the café. I vaguely hear the officer yelling after us, and catch sight of him as we turn a street corner. Craig surprisingly leads us between two buildings, and we sprint up a snowy hill at the back. At the top, I see the officer going in the wrong direction.

"God, officer Barbrady is such a friggin' dumbass." Craig remarks, flipping the distant officer the bird, "Getting it in his head that kids are taking medication to get high. Let's go." He turns around and immediately slips, tumbling down the other side of the hill.

"Craig!" As I chase down after him, I notice three girls our age that are passing by stopping to help him. I pause momentarily, not having much experience around girls. But I almost immediately overcome my stupid little fear and stumble down to ground level, nearly tripping in some of the deep snow.

"Craig, are you alright? Talk, dammit!" A black haired girl commands, shaking him back and forth by the shoulders. He is unable to respond because he's so dizzy. The girls all notice me standing and eyeing them like a stunned mullet.

"Oh my God," The girl drops Craig, and he flops to the ground, groaning, "Oh, my, _God_! Wow, it's that Tweek kid! It's Tweek!" The three of them rush towards me.

"He's so cute!"

"Daw, look at him!"

They all coo at me, and I can feel myself shrinking further and further into myself the closer they get. "Stop it, guys." Craig tells them, staggering towards us. I recognise one of the girls from the picture Cartman shows me on his phone. She has a pink beret, "Maybe you should introduce yourselves like normal people." The one I recognise, the black haired one, ignores his words.

"That's so cool, Craig. He's soooooo pretty. You've hit the jackpot, you!" She squeals excitedly, shaking her balled hands in front of her chest, "I ship you two!" The other two girls instantly react, joining her.

"O-M-G, yes! I do too!"

"Me too!"

"Craig and Tweek… their ship name shall be… CREEK!" Miss Beret announces, making something official. As they excitedly begin to chatter like crazed parrots, Craig whispers to me.

"These girls are Wendy, Heidi, and Red. And yes, they're nuts, so let's get out of here. I think I know where Clyde and Token are right now." He takes my hand and begins to drag me away, but the girls follow us like a cult.

"Girls, look, they're holding hands!"

"Oh, it's so cute, I can't deal with it…" Craig sighs, irritated, but I try to be more social and turn my head to them.

"Nice to meet you all." They all respond with the same words as me and begin actually introducing themselves properly.

"Don't communicate with the wild, Tweek. They'll eat you." Craig warns.

* * *

><p>"Bebe! Bebe!" Wendy yells as we arrive at a frozen lake, densely populated by elementary students, ice skating or chatting on the sidelines. She catches the attention of a frizzy haired blond girl, who turns around at the sound of her name. Wendy snatches me from Craig puts her arm around me, pointing at my face, "Look who's here! Look at him!" Bebe's face lights up, and she runs over as quickly as possible, even in her skates.<p>

"Whoa! _You're_ Tweek?" She sticks her hand out, and I hesitantly shake it, "Nice to meet you, I'm Bebe Stevens. I'm sorry, I couldn't make it to that thing at the institute." She apologizes, "But you're really _cute_!"

"I know, isn't he? We're calling it Creek." As they start swooning together and more girls gather to see what the fuss is about, Craig leads me away.

"Would you like to skate, Tweek?"

"But I don't have any sk–

"Just tell me."

"Well, yeah, b–

"Can anyone lend Tweek some skates?" Craig shouts, catching the attention of nearly everyone. Many people, even ones already on the ice, begin volunteering. I catch sight of Stan and Kyle on the other side of the lake, raising their hands and yelling, and also Cartman and Butters on the ice, doing the same thing. I feel a tap on my shoulder and turn around, surprisingly to find Kenny, who seems to have just arrived. Without a word, he hands me his skates and runs off towards a young girl about six or seven, who is flinging some snow around. I soon realise she must be his sister, since their eyes and faces are the same. I glance at his skates in my arms, unsure, "Go on, Tweek," Craig reassures me, "Use them."

"But you don't have any, Craig." Craig shrugs, pretending to not care.

"Oh, I'm good. It's not like I feel like skating anyway. I'll stay here and socialise. Go on Tweek. Lots of people on the rink will want to talk to you." I begin fumbling with my fingers, embarrassed.

"But you see, Craig, I don't… know how to skate." Craig facepalms at himself.

"Oh, right, of course. God, I'm so stupid." I start to feel guilty. Shit I'm troubling Craig. He doesn't need this.

"Actually," I drop down and remove my shoes, beginning to put the skates on, which are only a little big, "It's ok, Craig. I can get someone to hold onto. Hey, Butters!" I luckily see him and Cartman stepping off the ice. There is no way in hell Craig could ever be jealous of _Butters_. He comes over, smiling, "Could you help me? I… don't know how to skate." Butters nods straight away.

"Oh, sure! Come on," He grabs my arm, and while I wave bye to Craig, I slip and nearly fall as we go onto the ice. Craig stands up and begins to come over, "It's ok, Craig! I won't let him fall!" Butters says sweetly, pulling me towards the middle of the rink. I'm so scared of falling that my legs are shaking, "Don't be scared, Tweek. It doesn't hurt when you fall." I stare as Red swoops behind him, grabbing his collar and pulling him away. I shriek and nearly lose balance, but Wendy and Bebe magically appear either side of me, linking my arms with theirs.

"How's it going, Tweek?" Wendy asks adoringly, looking at me as if I'm a puppy. They begin pulling me around with them as they leisurely skate around.

"Did you guys just kidnap my friend?" I ask, glancing around and am surprised to see Butters laughing with Red.

"Butters doesn't mind. He used to like Red when we were little, and all of us girls think he's nice." Bebe states, turning us left. My eyes search around, and I eventually spot Kenny playing in the snow with his sister. He catches sight of Butters with Red and stares.

"But what about Kenny?" I ask.

"Huh?" Both of the girls gape at me in confusion, "_Kenny_? What's he got to do with anything?" Wendy smiles slyly, "Ooh, is there something you know that we don't?" Their eyes seem to shine, and I suddenly see the evil power girls seem to thrive on: gossip, or more, secrets. They're crazy – and I know crazy.

"No. I meant," I risk a split second to think, "Don't you guys think Kenny's nice?" Wendy and Bebe exchange glances, apathetic.

"Sure, I guess. He sort of quiet." Wendy answers me first, avoiding skating into a large dent. I raise an eyebrow; he _is_?

"Yeah, he is," Bebe agrees, as if reading my mind, "Oh, but I guess he's a gentleman, too. And isn't afraid to do things girls like. Remember, Wendy, he joined Home Ec. In third grade when all the other boys took shop class?"

"Oh yeah! That was so cool of him." They begin eyeing Kenny in what I would call a 'female trance'. The same thing would probably happen with One Direction – I may have been in a hospital for half of my life, but it's not like I've been living under a rock, "But Tweek, we're really wondering about you and Craig."

"Wh…What about me and Craig?" I prepare for the interrogation that's coming.

"Do you know why he was expelled?" I shake my head, "Well, you see, he started hitting a kid that was belittling him for being interested in a psychopath. He started going on about you being a killer. Cartman joined in beating him up, and even pulled a knife on the kid. Thank goodness the teachers came."

"Oh…" So now I know what happened. That was stupid of Craig. He made some really bad choices. But I guess what's done is done.

"And you do know our friend Milly dumped him because he was too interested in you, right?" I nod, "And you obviously worship him. But the question is, are you two canon?" I gawk at Bebe, not understanding the language of females. Wendy translates:

"She means, are you two dating?"

"Oh, uh, well, I don't know."

"Did he say he likes you?" I flush, not used to talking about such a subject with other people.

"Yes… yes, we both like each other." The two girls squeal loudly, making other people on the ice stare, "And yes, we have kissed, but it was an accident. Look, I'm tired. Could you guys let me go now?" Wendy and Bebe gasp and frantically lead to the edge of the lake, allowing me to step off, "Thank you. Bye now!" I flee as soon as they turn their backs, convinced that girls are a force not to be messed with. I stop when I reach the small pit in the snow Kenny and his sister have created.

"Kenny, why aren't you joining in with everyone? I haven't even heard you talk today." I ask, curious. He shrugs, kicking some snow absent mindedly.

"I don't know. I guess I'm not the best with large crowds. More the quiet, introverted type. My sister's all the company I need." I nod in understanding, though I have no idea what 'introverted' means. He flinches when I pat him on the shoulder.

"I think I understand. You're just shy!" I exclaim, pulling his hood down.

"SHY!? Who're you calling _shy_?" He immediately protests, glancing around to see if anyone heard me. His sister laughs, plopping a bunch of snow on his head.

"Kenny's shy, Kenny's shy!" She teases him, giggling gleefully. She turns to me, smiling.

I realise this would be the cue to introduce myself, "Hi, I'm Tweek. What's your name?"

"I'm Karen, and Kenny's my big brother. Yay!"

"Yay…" I hear Craig's voice sarcastically join in with her, "Come on, Tweek," He turns me around, "Put your shoes on." I nod obediently and sit next to Kenny in the snow, untying his skates. I notice Karen has run off onto the frozen lake in mere seconds, and is skating with Butters. I express my gratitude for the skates.

"Thanks, Kenny." He nods in acknowledgement, silently watching Butters skating with his sister, "You want to go and skate with them, don't you?" Kenny snickers, locking eyes with me.

"Yep, I do. But unfortunately for me, I'm a coward."

"I'm a coward too, Kenny," I inform him, "But there's no use in brooding about it. That's what I thought this morning, when Craig said he needed to bring me with him for an errand. So I did it, and I'm still having a pretty good time. Maybe you should try it." Kenny ignores me, "Come on, do this with me. We can get braver together, alright? Little by little. Might as well try, right?" Kenny stares at me, and then Butters, and then me, before going red.

"Yeah. Maybe I'll try that."

* * *

><p>"Well, let's see what Tweek wants, then! Tweek, you'd rather McDonald's than Taco Bell, right?" Clyde asks for my opinion, his eyes shining adamantly. I shrug.<p>

"I don't know. I haven't had either in a while."

"Oh, come on, McDonald's is–

"Clyde, shut up." Token snaps, humiliated, "You're being so loud." This is my first time in a mall, and I gotta say, it's overwhelming. And all for dinner? It's like running to Europe to get a hot dog. Craig stops, the phone in his pocket buzzing. He gestures for us to go on discussing and turns away.

"Have you even had McDonald's, Token?"

"Hey, just because my family's rich doesn't mean I've never had take-out."

"What does a Big Mac have then?"

"A what?" Craig turns back around, pale-faced, "Whoa, what's wrong?" Craig leans his head on my shoulder, shocked.

"What is it?" I ask, patting his back, "Craig?" He mutters something into my shoulder, but I don't hear, "What'd you say?"

"Ruby's… been rushed to hospital. Critical condition, they said." A rush of alarm surges through me, and I begin breathing heavily. I didn't know Ruby was so weak. She always acts so strong and fierce, but she's so young, only a few years past the infant stage. Has she even started kindergarten?

"Why?"

"She was having trouble breathing. They think she's suffering from severe pneumonia." I cover my mouth, astounded. If this is sudden for me, then for Craig it must be… "They're staying with her overnight. They'll be back probably late tomorrow."

"God, is there something we can do? Are you going with them?" Clyde asks, not sure how to handle to situation.

"No…" We all watch Craig as he attempts a smile, "I say we get pizza. It's easiest to share. And Tweek once told me he likes pizza, didn't you, Tweek?"

"Yeah." I grin at Craig timidly. Clyde sighs loudly, momentarily forgetting about Ruby.

"Pizza? _Really_?"

"If you're gonna be such a baby about it, I'll pay for everything." Token offers, shooting Craig a knowing look, "No problem."

"Hell no! Just 'cause you said that, I'll pay for it all. C'mon, I want you to see me pull the money outta that wallet," Clyde tries to pull Token off towards the pizza joint, but Craig grabs his jacket, staring behind us, "What?"

"Get Tweek the hell out of here," He suddenly instructs, shoving me towards Clyde, "Go, right now, go!" Out of the corner of my eye, I see a group of policemen showing a photo, which I would assume to be mine, asking various people if they've seen me. Clyde and I high tail out of the food court, and soon, out of the mall altogether.

"Come on, Tweek, we'd better get back to Craig's house. People will start recognising you." Clyde grabs my arm and prevents me from being hit by a car in the giant parking lot. Many families and couples stare as we hurry past, some saying my name. It's become apparent to me that most of the town knows my name and face. And it scares the living shit out of me. Clyde stops us abruptly as we near the end of a street, "Shyte," He curses to himself, leading me down a different road, "Police cars are everywhere."

"Let's go in there." I point to large building.

"Good idea," Clyde surprisingly leads me around the building instead, and as we reach a football field, I realize it's a school, "Tweek, wait up! Not so fast…" He stops beside me, exhausted, "Pahaha! What d'ya know? The track team try-outs are today." He comments, sitting on the grass and huffing.

"Is this your school?" I ask, panting as well.

"No, it's South Park Junior High. I'll be coming here in a couple of years."

"Kid," I spin around, my heart pounding as the coach comes marching towards me. Oh God, he's come to take me away. Clyde leaps up and tries to stand in front of me, but the man firmly moves him out of the way, "Hey kid, you're as fast as lightning," He points behind his shoulder, "I'm in charge of the try-outs for the track team. You should have a go. What I'd give to have you competing for our school…" He obviously doesn't know who I am, thank effing God.

"Um, sir, I'm only ten. Still in fifth grade. I'm not gonna attend this school next year." I tell him, anxiously looking at Clyde.

"No, come on kid, please, you were like Forrest Gump just now! Please," He puts his hand on my shoulder and forces me towards the track, standing me in a line of slightly older kids waiting to race.

"Forrest who?" I question him as the whistle is about to be blown. As it blows, the other boys seem to disappear.

"GO, KID, GO!" The coach yells, beckoning for me to run after them. A smart person would storm away, grab Clyde, and get the hell out of here. But I've never been the sharpest knife in the drawer. I dash after them, catching up about halfway around the truck. I see Clyde watching open-mouthed, and mouth 'I don't know' to him. In the end, I come second, after a tall kid who has enough muscles to jump onto the moon if he wants to.

"Your time, kid," The coach exclaims, showing me his stopwatch. He brings it away from my face so quickly, due to his excitement, that I'm unable to read it, "For a boy your height and age, man! Join in a few years, please. I'd be honoured to have you." If it wasn't for my fear, I would be beaming with pride right now. But the exasperated Clyde reminds me that I can't go to this school.

"Come on, Sam," He takes hold of me, using a faux name, "We've already missed our curfew."

* * *

><p>"…Seriously? That seriously happened?" Craig asks as Token his getting plates for the pizza, "Tweek you try to escape from police and end up getting accepted into a track team? For a middle school?" He hides his face in his hands, and I slump foolishly.<p>

"Crazy, isn't it?" Clyde mutters, still annoyed. We both turn surprised eyes on Craig when he bursts out laughing, "It's not funny, Craig! He could have been caught."

"Of course it's funny! Oh my God, Tweek, you're amazing. How does that even _happen_? HAHAHA!" I sigh in relief since Craig isn't angry, and laugh along with him, "It's these things that make me think you're so cool."

"Who's Forrest Gump, anyway?" I wonder to myself, making Craig laugh even harder.

We hear a hard pounding on the door, and freeze. "Police, open up!" Craig calmly opens a cabinet, emptying four pots out and putting them on the stove and in the sink. They all shove me in, as if having planned it, and shut the door. I cover my mouth and try to breathe quietly, listening to Craig as he opens the front door.

"What?"

"We have reason to believe you are hiding Tweek Tweak, and a search warrant. Step aside." I listen to their footsteps and they spread out around the house, opening closet doors and such. I'm lucky that I'm small. They would think to search kitchen cabinets.

"I was friends with that dude," Craig tells them eventually, "But I'm not hiding him. I really have no idea where he is. My friends and I are just having a small pizza party."

"And where are your parents?"

"My sister needed to be rushed to hospital. They're staying with her overnight."

"…Alright, there's nothing suspicious here. But you two kids should probably get home. We'll drive you. The streets aren't safe with a patient like that loose. You see him Craig, you call us, ok?"

"Yeah." After the sound of the front door, I hear Craig's fast footsteps, and he opens the cabinet door, "You good? Bastards took Clyde and Token."

"I'm fine."

"Great. You must be hungry." Craig takes a few pieces of pizza and puts them on a plate for him and I, "What do you wanna drink?"

"Whatever you're having." I answer him politely, "I don't care." He lazily takes two cokes out of the fridge and sets them on the counter, in a daze, "Craig?" He turns towards me and steps over quickly, halting only an inch away from me. Craig then suddenly grabs my shoulders tightly and pecks me slowly on the lips, and then on the cheek, and then on the forehead.

"I love you." He breathes out, pulling away, "Tweek, I'll never forget how you said my name was boring. I'll never forget how much you used to stutter and shake. And I'll never forget you saying 'Don't feel guilty! It was my fault we failed! I'm really sorry!' after our failed escape attempt. That was a really defining moment. I'm glad you said it."

"…I am too." Craig squeezes my hand and goes back to the cans of coke, bringing them towards the living room. I follow with the plates of pizza. After we sit down I fumble with my drink, taking forever to open it.

"Shit." Craig says, scowling at the TV.

"What is it? What's wrong?" I glance up at the screen, seeing Pip's name and face displayed, and him being dragged out of the institute by police. That façade didn't last long. "Yeah, shit."


	18. Chapter 18

Craig really didn't want me to see the TV. Me being shocked by what's on the screen, he speedily took hold of my quivering shoulders and forced me upstairs into his room. He held the doorknob so that I couldn't get out. "Craig, let me out! Let me see more!" He ignored my pleas, refusing to reply to anything I said. I gave up and fell asleep to the sound of him phoning the others in the hallway. But when I woke up just now, he was back next to me, leaning against the barred foot of his bed. He speaks as soon as he knows I'm not asleep anymore. "What are we gonna do, Tweek?" Craig immediately answers his own question, "We'll hide you at Cartman's house or something. We'll all take turns hiding you." Ignoring his reassurance, I slide off the mattress stiffly, my eyes drooping dejectedly. It's probably in someone's nature to worry about themselves and what's gonna happen to them, but my thoughts are on Pip's plight and the consequences he'll have for this. But then again, 'normal' has never been a word I'm attributed with. "Tweek?"

I've become a realist, probably because I don't want anyone else to be in Pip's situation, "Don't be an idiot, Craig. We know that won't ever work." I mutter bitterly, feeling drained of any hope. Craig slumps, looking helpless for once in his life. It's 'cause he's not allowed to deny it. His expression obviously says he doesn't agree, "Maybe you'll understand if you sleep."

"I _did_ sleep." Craig insists adamantly, obviously exhausted either way. If he did or not, I'll never know. God, again, I'm worrying more about Craig's condition than my own.

"Are you sure?"

"_Yes_."

"…I should go to the police before more of you get in trouble," My accomplice opens his mouth to protest, but I refuse to let him interrupt me, "Shut up and listen. I want to go to my house first." Craig didn't see that coming.

"But why? And what are you _thinking_, turning yourself in?" He shakes me angrily.

"I'm going to be locked away forever eventually. Might as well reminisce while I can." My voice cracks at the truth of it, and I cover my mouth, "Before they find me." I utter. Craig watches at I begin to cry, and I know he wants to tell me it won't happen, but it will. He probably feels like he failed me. Maybe he wishes we'd never met.

With what a burden I always am, I sometimes do.

* * *

><p>The fear that overtakes me as we trudge down the snow-littered streets is indescribable. They're all out to get me, and <em>we<em> can't do anything about it. Even the tight hold I have on Craig's hand, or the hood covering my hair are barely helping. I can tell he feels just as uneasy though. He's so out of it, he accidentally pulled on not his usual chullo hat, but a plain blue beanie. Maybe he was confused. I feel like crap for doing all this to him. If only I'd just hated him like a normal patient would hate a boy from the outside.

It's too late to think about what I could have done though, 'cause I'm here, outside.

"Guys," Butters appears seemingly out of nowhere, making us both jump. He looks almost as if I don't deserve anything to do with him, what with his cute velvet brown coat and bunny-checkered pyjama pants. Upon feeling our grim stares, he quickly begins to explain himself, "Eric told me," Butters hesitates, "You see, I heard Tweek's turning himself in," I decide to nod, shocking him. I can understand why he would think it's not true, since I'm such a coward. "Well that's uh, mighty brave of you, Tweek. It was, well, good to meet you." He shakes my unresponsive hand respectfully, and waves with utmost kindness as we continue the way to my house. I know this is goodbye. Butters is good. He's the sincerity and innocence I've always wanted to embody. Yeah, that's why people like me don't deserve his favour.

Kenny probably feels the same way.

I gawk at my once home when we arrive in front of the structure. It seemed a lot bigger the last time I saw it. And yet it's only been two years. "Door's probably locked," Craig states, pulling on my arm, "Let's go round the back." He goes and finds a moderately big rock as I watch the beautiful wood of the back patio. For the now smashed glass door, I can't say the same about it's appearance. Craig brushes the snow from his gloves, the condensation of his breath clearly visible, and follows me inside. Ignoring the several signs police have been in and out of this place, I head straight upstairs and towards my bedroom. My dad took off the little wooden letters decorating my door, spelling 'TWEEK'. Probably because of the guilt every time he walked past. I'd do the same if they'd given me a photo of him or something.

"Is there something you want to take with you?" Craig questions me as I slide the door open, stepping onto the plush purple carpet. Ignoring his words, I allow him to continue pondering as I squat in front of my toy chest. It squeaks as it opens, stupidly adding to my fear of being caught before I've finished here. I stare at my stuffed toys, feeling as if it was yesterday I stowed them in here, apparently forever. The stuffed dog, my favourite, is in his rightful place at the top. If I ever had friends before the institution, they're all in this box.

"What are you going to do with these?"

"The police are gonna donate them to other kids. They're still mine though, so I wanna hide them." Craig's mouth drops open in disbelief, and he begins to object.

"Are you _serious_? All the trouble for that? They're just stuffed dolls."

"I care about them. You can either help me or you can't, because I'm putting them in the attic."

"People will find them in the attic."

"Believe me, no one wants to go into my attic." I pick up the dog and stroke it's head adoringly, it's matted faux fur giving me some slight comfort. Craig asks what the name is. "I didn't name any of them. I know who they are, so they don't need names." After giving all the dolls some of my attention, I place them back inside and shut the chest with a loud click, standing back up. I'm faced with Craig on my bed sniffing the pillow. "Wow."

"I-I was just curious to see if it smelt like you."

"Oh, so you know what I smell like?"

"Course I do." He pretends he's kept his cool, "One of the first things I noticed meeting you."

"Wait, so while you were teaching me to make coffee, you were _sniffing_ me?"

"Yeah." Craig's blunt attitude is something that's attracted me to him from the beginning, but someday it's going to get him in trouble. All that can be said about it. Thankfully, he separates himself from the pillow and helps me haul the chest out into the hallway, up the attic stairs, and into that dreaded room full of cobwebs. Craig asks me why my attic is so neglected as we hide the box in the darkest corner.

My only reply, "Well, I guess we weren't a normal family like yours is… there's a daddy-long-leg on you." My hand stops Craig's from swatting it, earning me a surprised look. He watches as I gently let it crawl onto my palm and then the wall.

"You're the last person I'd expect to not be afraid of spiders." I laugh, feeling cheerful for the first time this day.

"You learn if they're the only company you have other than crazy kids." Craig smiles back despite how pitiful it sounds, and we begin to slog back downstairs.

I shriek as I emerge from the doorway, Cartman standing next to me, "What are you doing here? Why didn't you come up?"

"I'm here to give you something, fucktard. And I'm sure as hell not going up there." Cartman cringes at the mere thought of it. He ignores Craig's distasteful glare as the latter closes the attic door. "That tape we wanted to you show, at that meeting. It didn't get a chance to play. Me and Stan found out from eavesdropping on police that your parents had security cameras in case of burglary. We all thought that maybe you could be proven innocent if there was a tape proving you didn't push your mom. We came and found them in a drawer in your dad's room." I feel horrified, almost as if it's an invasion of privacy, but accept the tape from his waiting hand nevertheless.

"I'll give it to them, then. Thank you Cartman." He grimaces at my words. I know it's because gratitude is something he's never been faced with.

"Don't act like I care about you. It's just 'cause everyone seems to like you so much."

"Sure." If this denial is how he's gonna cope with me being gone, then I can't stop him.

…Craig begins to panic as soon as we leave my house, since I'm now making no effort to be concealed from the police. He keeps trying to pull my hood up. I slap his hand away the fifth time. "Stop it, Craig. I don't _want_ to go back, but it's for everyone's good."

"Let's rethink this. We've worked so hard to get you out. Why give up now?"

"Because it won't work. Please, Craig, just let me do what I want to do."

"Be locked up again?"

"Yes. Because that means I'll stop troubling everyone. And besides, I have the tape. They might not even put me in there again."

"But they might."

"…It'll do me good anyway."

"What the hell makes you think that?"

"Because the longer I'm hiding out here with you, the more I'm hating myself." Craig gapes at me, too astounded to reply, "So stop being selfish – I know you're just scared. And I know it's because you care, but this is better for everyone."

"…I promised myself I'd take care of you."

"You have. But we all know I don't belong here right now." Craig freaks out as we catch sight of a police car nearby, patrolling the streets. And suddenly, I feel like I'm not ready. And yet when he pulls my hood up, I manage to bring it back down. The car screeches to a halt to the side of us. "D-Don't forget me, if you never see me again. Remember how I said your name was boring!" I frantically tell Craig as I hear their car doors slam. "I'll miss you! I… love you!" Yelling such a thing as cops are putting me in their car isn't exactly romantic, but it makes Craig cry.

* * *

><p>It's been two months. I was so emotional by the time they jailed me that I almost forgot to give them the tape proving my innocence. Most of the cops sympathised with me because I was so young. It didn't make me any happier. I finally got to meet my lawyer, who told me that there was no way I'm going to be back in the institution. I didn't know whether to believe him or not.<p>

The only happy day I had in those two months was Craig's birthday. He came to my confinement room and was locked in, the same as me, for however long he wanted. All day apparently. We shared a cupcake to the sound of Katy Perry's 'Birthday', after I'd sung him the real birthday song. That was a damn good cupcake. Also amidst our 'Craig's Birthday Jam Collection' were Maroon 5's 'Moves like Jagger' and Taylor Swift's 'Shake it off'. It was fun - he kissed me that day.

Yesterday, I was acquitted of my 'crime'. I don't even know what they were all talking about in that court. To be honest, I was too afraid and stupid to concentrate on anything besides Kenny's face in the upper seating section. I don't think he was allowed there, but then again, he might be the second Jesus.

"Take a deep breath, Tweek," I do as the doctor says, inhaling profoundly. He seems like a nice man, but he's still the one who decides if I'm insane or not. I've already had enough damn psychological tests, and now this guy's testing the physical symptoms, "And out." I make eye contact with Craig's tense eyes, which are in the corner of the room watching intensely. Mr and Mrs Tucker are also here to see my fate, Ruby on the latter's hip… she's got leukaemia. Her condition's contributed to my choice: if the doctor says I can't go free, I'm going to jump off this building. I can't handle anything any more, and I hate myself more than a sane person should. It's his decision – not that I've told anyone. If I do end up jumping, though, I know it'll save everyone from the infamous Tweek Tweak.

Man, depression's something serious.

"Let's see if you're shaking," The doctor says, his hands feeling my shoulders and chest, "A little." He writes something on his clipboard and stands up fully. "Well, Tweek, I'm going to have a little talk with the other doctors. You stay here with the Tucker's, alright?" I pull my shirt back on and retreat to Craig, barely listening to the man's words. The soothing pats on my back from Craig do nothing for me, and for a second I think I'm going to purge everywhere.

A group of those fiends return a few minutes later, all looking stern.

"Tweek Tweak is not insane and most likely never was. There's a difference between a mourning child and a socio-path," I feel Craig's chest swell less as he exhales in relief, but don't feel relaxed myself, "However, Tweek is too unstable at the moment to live freely. He will need to stay in our psychiatric ward for an amount of time."

"How long?" Mr Tucker demands, seeing Craig ready to lose his temper.

"…At least a year," Seeing my distraught expression, one of the doctors begins to explain, "You see Tweek, you don't have a good enough understanding of the world, have no social skills, and most of all, you're… you're suicidal."

**THEY _KNOW_!**

It's time, it's time, it's time. I leap away from Craig's arms and push the door closest to me open, sprinting into the teal hallway. I mapped out the roof before I came here, I know exactly where it is. I'm fucking fast at running – they can't get me. I reach the height of heaven's stairs, slamming the door to the roof open. My face is hit with South Park's icy wind, but I take hardly any notice.

As I work myself through a hole in the chain-linked fence designed to keep people from falling, Craig's voice interrupts me, "Wait, Tweek!" I stare in confusion as he breaks and rips off the inside door handle, preventing anyone else from coming up. "Tweek!" He calls out, inching around the fence. I glowerat him defensively, not quite ready to jump yet.

"Don't even bother, Craig! You all can't stop me this time! I promise, you'll be better off without me!"

"Shut up, Tweek! You know I won't recover from something like this!" He snaps, clinging onto the winded metal and stepping towards me carefully.

"You will! I swear–

"As if! I'd probably go insane myself!" I'm about to yell at him again, but he says something shocking, "That's why I'm jumping with you!"

"What!? Craig, _no_, you have your whole life to go!"

"Well so do _you_!"

"I'm different! You're normal!"

"I obviously stopped being normal when I met you. Why else do you think I would do this!?" We exchange stares, "I've always had a feeling it could come to this, and now it has. So let's just do it." His stoic voice has cracks in it. I know he's scared. I'm scared too.

"_People who have second thoughts obviously aren't totally willing to do it, are they_?" My therapist's words from the other day radiate through my brain, stopping my impulses to jump.

I think about how happy Craig and I can be when I get out of this hospital. About Butters' sheer joy despite any negativity that comes. About Kenny and Cartman's kindness that they aren't used to showing. About Pip's sacrifices to help me. About Kyle and Stan's strong friendship. About how Token and Clyde think of me as one of them. About being accepted onto a track team without trying.

About how much Ruby would give to live past five. And we're here throwing our lives away at the ages of ten and eleven.

"Wait… Craig, wait." I hurriedly lean back on the fence, pulling him back with me, "Don't die, don't die. I don't want us to die. We don't deserve to die." He opens his mouth to ask what the hell I'm talking about, but can't find the words, "Maybe… I think… life's sometimes worth suffering for. There have been a lot of bad things, but you guys have also brought me good things. That's why I think I should give it a shot."

Craig gapes at me for a long moment, and for a while all sound that can be heard is the icy wind, but then he laughs shakily. "Really?" He sees my nods and laughs harder, "I'm so happy, oh my God, you're amazing, Tweek." That's when I see Craig's never wanted to die. But he want going to if it meant giving me the comfort of not being alone. The door leading downstairs is slammed open, but we continue looking at each other. "I was so scared," He says as a doctors pulls him back to safety, "I was so scared." He repeats, clinging to his weeping mom. I collapse onto my knees, now knowing what true safety, on this barricaded tile floor, feels like.

Despite feeling so much more at ease with myself, I watch with heavy guilt as Ruby staggers over to me, her arms practically collapsing on my shoulders as a hug, "It's ok. Tweek can get better and join the track team." She reassures me sweetly.

She's right. I am going to get better. So that nothing like this happens again. And if it's going to take a year, so be it.

For Craig.


End file.
